


Per Laborem

by Lorelings



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Pre-Canon, Self-Insert, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:33:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25452466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorelings/pseuds/Lorelings
Summary: Normally dying would be the worst thing that could happen to someone, unfortunately for me that was only the start of the problems. Decades away from the beginning of the story I knew and looking down the barrel of one of the bloodiest conflicts this world would know, I sometimes wished I was given the choice to stay dead. SI/OC.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 101
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts





	1. I: A New World

I was twenty four years old when I died in a rather embarrassing way. Embarrassing for me that is. My family, if they exist somewhere out there, are probably traumatised. It was New Year's Eve and the whole family had gotten together to celebrate with alcohol, food, and fireworks. It was the last one that did me in. You see, my younger cousin has a dog. Had a dog? Whatever. She has this little German Shepard. Barely older than a puppy, probably the most adorable thing ever, and as dumb as a sack of rocks. The last things I that I could remember were: my uncle setting the fuse of the box of fireworks, the dog getting spooked by something, running out and knocking over the box, roughly 300 euros worth of fireworks delivering their explosive payloads directly into my face and body, and then pain. Lots of pain.

Thankfully the pain and panic only lasted for a moment before was replaced with darkness.

Darkness and warmth.

After nothing changed for what felt like days I was left with two options. Either I was in a coma and dreaming, or the most commonly believed ideas about the afterlife were way off. I can honestly say I did not expect the third option of aimlessly floating around in the darkness for what felt like ages, before suddenly being squeezed through a narrow tunnel and being reintroduced to the light. After which a number of what could only be described as blurry giants did a lot of coo-ing and laughing at the very confused me, before I fell back into darkness and woke up in another new and unfamiliar place. This time I was at least in an actual bed of some sort instead of being passed around.

This bizarre situation was where I found myself now, staring at the blurry masses that I assumed were my hands. I attempted to 'retrace my steps' as it were, in order to figure out what on earth was going on. Which was just a nicer way of saying 'having a mild panic attack because, seriously, what the fuck is going on?', which would have been a lot more accurate.

First hypothesis was that all of this was some weird coma-dream that my mind was conjuring while I lay in the ER somewhere getting patched up. Plausible, but there were a couple issues. Firstly being I'd never heard of someone having this absurd of a coma-dream before, and secondly I was pretty sure people didn't just get better after being blasted into what I assume was multiple pieces.

Second hypothesis was that I did, in fact, shuffle off of the mortal coil and was now dead and reborn into the afterlife. In which case my expectations about life after death were well and truly subverted. Also unlikely because it would require whatever deity(s) that were the 'true' deity(s) to have a really weird way of treating non-believers.

Third hypothesis, and probably the most concerning one, was that this was actually totally normal. Assuming that I did bite the dust, and that I had just been literally reborn instead of the metaphorical birth of the second hypothesis, would mean that I have been reincarnated back onto Earth. The problem being that I could still remember my previous life, but I sure as hell didn't remember a life before that one. So if this was normal would I eventually lose my memories of the past life? Did everyone remember their past lives until a certain age, after which it was all erased or forgotten?

I could feel another panic attack starting to creep up on me, so I began trying to take deep breaths to calm myself down. My lungs couldn't take in enough air. I desperately began to look around to find something else to focus on, something that would distract me from my spiralling thoughts somehow. Only to discover I couldn't move my head. Its was as if it was a giant weight that my neck couldn't support. The discovery made the panic consume me. I didn't want to forget who I had been! I felt my lungs burn, my already blurry vision warping even further until all I could see was just one continuous smear of colours. I felt my body switch over to a deeper, more instinctual survival mode as my rational mind shut down.

I began to cry.

-I-

I spent most of the next week alternating between dreamless sleep and bawling my eyes out as I struggled to figure out what was going on. I only stopped when it became apparent that I had no control over what was going to happen, so the only option was to wait it out until something changed. With the constant panic and confusion shoved to the back of my mind, and the world around me still being a smear of colour where objects around were blurred to incomprehensibility, I began relying on my other senses.

My sense of touch still worked just fine, but I was always wrapped in either blankets or some sort of swaddling, or being carried around and fed by something much larger than I. Taste seemed to work just fine although the only thing I was fed was breast milk, which was certainly a new experience. Smell was also fully functional but there was nothing that really stood out to me. Hearing was the most disappointing sense, as while I could hear _noise_ I wasn't able to make heads nor tales about what was being said.

And then there was my sixth sense, or at least something like it.

I first noticed it after my panic phase, and it was something entirely new. A soft humming, for lack of a better word, that was constantly active under my skin. Any time I was awake and not being tended to was spent trying to look inwards to figure out this new feeling. It was constant, always just below the surface, but the moment I would try to focus on it or affect it in any way it would slip away. It was rather like trying to hold onto the slipperiest bar of soap ever, the more force I tried to grab it with the faster it would vanish. Then I began to notice that it wasn't just under my skin. When I focused as hard as I could I would hear it, and it was everywhere. The air I breathed would hum. The unknown giant beings that would carry me around and feed me would emanate a steady drone. In one of my many attempts to grab a hold of my own humming I suddenly heard a loud ringing, much like the aftermath of someone striking a gong outside my window, then the sound of rushing water, and then nothing. Needless to say that set off another bout of panic and crying

Looking back at it I must have been a very strange baby. Screaming my head off for a week before going almost totally silent and introspective the next. Thankfully after the first two weeks my vision began clearing up, I was still incredibly near-sighted but it gave me hope that I would regain my vision with time. I immediately began to use this regained ability of seeing shapes to help me in my attempts to figure out what was going on.

First revelation: the beings carrying me around were just normal people, and I was just a normal baby by all appearances. Placing me firmly into the third category of 'reincarnation gone wrong, or right, depending on how this stuff works'.

Second: definitely some sort of Asian household considering the style of writing and furniture, but with the occasional western-seeming piece of furniture dotted around.

Third: The family I was born in didn't seem to be either extravagantly rich nor in poverty, so that was a good sign at least.

Fourth: Despite my mother being Asian, she had purple hair.

With a better idea of my circumstances and the constant low-level feeling of panic dying down I decided it was best to just settle in for the ride. At this point if I ended up losing my memories of my previous life there was literally nothing I could do about it so I might as well enjoy this whole new experience while I could.

-I-

It took roughly three months for my neck muscles and eyesight to develop to the point that I was able to look around under my own power. Another three months before I could start moving around by crawling and one more until I could stumble around on just my two legs. Seven months in total of being unable to do anything but lay in my crib, staring at the same four walls. It was a small miracle that I didn't go crazy.

The only relief from the boredom was when the people who I assumed were my new parents would carry me around, feed me, or play. I originally despised the silly baby-appropriate games which they attempted to play with me, I was a grown man damn it, so I did everything possible to avoid engaging with them. Up until I saw that my mother was starting to actually get concerned that there was something wrong with me. I'm pretty sure she even hired a doctor of some sort to take a look at me at one point. After that I began making more of an effort to engage with her like an actual baby. Partially because I didn't want them to think anything might be seriously wrong, but mostly because it felt really shitty to give this woman the cold shoulder when she had done nothing but be kind and care for me.

I couldn't deny that the more time that went by the more I became attached to my new parents. Whether it was because of the sheer amount of time I spent being carried around by them, just normal affection, or some sort of Stockholm Syndrome taking root I didn't know, but the end result was the same. At some point during the first seven months of my new life I began thinking of them more as actual parents, and less as giant caretakers. They would never replace my original parents, who I missed dearly, but that fact slowly began meaning less and less as time passed.

It was around this time that I finally began getting a solid grasp on the language that everyone spoke. The writing was still almost incomprehensible to me, but I had begun to understand basic sentences by the time my father re-introduced me to what had been my first love before the Accident.

Books. Glorious, musty books.

I had been a big reader before the Accident. My whole family had been in fact. So when he came home one day from wherever he worked at with a stack of the fantastic things in his arms I was ecstatic. He had only brought one children's book with him, probably borrowed from a co-worker judging by the wear and tear, but to me it was the greatest thing I had found since arriving. Apparently my mother thought this was adorable and it quickly became a tradition for her to read to me before my naps and bedtime.

The stories were always a bit odd. Lots of super heroes fighting monsters or other villains, which was fairly normal stuff, but unlike the children books that I remembered there was a surprising amount of death. Defeated foes died, fallen heroes stayed dead, innocent bystanders were routinely murdered. It was a very different tone than I had expected, but not unwelcome. I'm not sure how I would have handled a few years of the equivalent of Dr. Seuss.

With the introduction of text that was actually aimed at someone at my skill level in this new language my literacy began increasing by leaps and bounds. Combined with my vocal skills finally improving to the point I could actually begin forming words instead of just sounds, resulted in me speaking my first word at just under 12 months of age. The word was carefully chosen to not imply I had a favourite parent, an amusing inversion of the favourite child issue, was "story". To celebrate this great achievement I was rewarded with my very first trip to the park.

This being the first time I had left the house since the Accident head was on a swivel. I was constantly turning and twisting to see everything as my father carried me through what I now recognised as a large-ish town, taking in as much of my surroundings as possible. The first thing I noticed was the bright colours everywhere. Roofs were painted bright reds, oranges and blues. Trees were everywhere, and in the distance I thought I could see a massive wall stretching around the village in front of us. It was unlike any place I remembered seeing or hearing of before the Accident, so I was still unable to place where I was.

The second thing was the odd uniform that many people were wearing. What looked like some sort of armoured vest with a dozen pouches and pockets, worn over the same handful of shirt and pant styles. At first I feared that I was born into an active war zone somewhere, but that was quickly discarded due to the facts that I had never heard any explosions and the relaxed atmosphere of the town. I doubt civilians would be casually walking around and mingling with on duty soldiers like it was nothing, so I was probably in some sort of military base. I also noticed that everyone wearing a uniform also had some sort of coloured band with a metal plate on their person. Being unable to place the images engraved on them, I assumed it to be some sort of ranking system.

Then we finally went around the corner of the street, where time seemed to slow as I saw something I really didn't expect to see. A massive cliff face took the place of the southern section of the wall, into which were carved giant faces, and a whole bunch of things clicked into place all at once.

The casual violence in the stories, the uniformed soldiers all around, the occasional odd hair colour, the headbands, how the hell did I not place the god-damn _forehead protectors_?! All of this flashed through my mind in what would have been an earth-shattering revelation, but there was one thing that overshadowed even that. One thing that sent a building sensation of dread to creep up my spine.

There were only two faces on the mountain.

-I-

The bombshells had caused me to be distracted the rest of the day, which my parents probably chalked up to me being outside for the first time. They weren't actually wrong, depending on how you look at it. The revelations that not only had I been apparently transported to some other universe after the Accident, but also the fact that the second Hokage was still around posed a multitude of questions ranging from the the basic (How am I supposed to survive a massive shinobi world war, not to mention two?) to the metaphysical (Did everyone's soul just jump universes over when they died? Were all stories just places one's soul would hop to upon death?).

Unfortunately the world didn't revolve around me, (because it would eventually revolve around Naruto) so the universe didn't stand still to let me figure things out. Time marched on and a few weeks of frantic planing later it was my first birthday in this new world. Unlike birthdays before the Accident it began with me being bundled up and carried to the local shrine. What followed was a dizzying series of religious ceremonies and rituals which reminded me somewhat of a Christian baptism, and ended with me being given a name. Embarrassingly it was at this exact moment that I realised I had never actually been given a name. My parents had always called me 'boy' or 'my baby' or some other pet name, and I had always mentally referred to myself with my name before the Accident when I needed one. So it was to my great shock that the presiding monk dipped his fingers in a bowl orange liquid, wrote something on my forehead, and officially gave me my name.

Akihiro. 'Bright Scholar'.

I guess my love of reading and stories had not gone unnoticed. After I had been washed off and we were on the way back home I pondered this new development. I didn't have any issues with the name, I had gone through a plethora of nicknames and online usernames before the Accident and this one was better than most. What surprised and concerned me most was the fact it was tradition here to wait until a child's fist birthday to actually give them their name. Big naming ceremonies were often linked to high child mortality weren't they? Only giving a child their name when they seemed sure to survive was a matter of practicality hundreds of years ago, where infant deaths were commonplace. Was the world still so dangerous after the creation of the hidden villages that such things were necessary, or was it an old tradition that hadn't had the time to die out yet? More and more questions, still no answers.

What followed was a small family party where close relatives were invited to meet me for the first time. Only two grandparents, my grandparents on my mother's side had died sometime before my birth, and only a couple aunts and uncles from my father's side. Food and drink was served, although I was left with the usual mush that I had been eating for the past couple months, and a good time was had by the adults as I quickly ended up being too tired to stay awake for much longer. I still needed a lot of sleep at only a year old plus the naming ceremony had been exhausting.

I didn't mind going to bed early. I had never been that invested in birthday parties the first time round either.

-I-

After my naming ceremony I was slowly introduced to the rest of my extended family, as well as the many friends and co-workers of my parents. My father turned out to be a civilian administrator working for the council, compiling issues or complaints which would be discussed by the guild heads and other prominent non-shinobi who would choose the most pressing matters to bring before the Hokage. Due to this he had a large social circle, which for me meant the next months were filled with excruciatingly boring play dates. This was how I spent most of my days leading up to my second birthday. Attempting to play nice with actual babies while having the mental age of an almost twenty six year old man. Needless to say I was quickly pegged as a dismissive introvert, wanting as little to do with other children as possible while preferring the company of books.

It was just a couple of weeks before my second birthday when I met my only relative from my mother's side. The moment I lay my eyes on him I noticed that there was something different about him compared to everyone else I had been introduced to so far. The way he held himself, the way he moved around, the way his eyes would snap to the slightest noise or sudden movement. From the very first moment I saw him it was obvious he was a shinobi. A hunter and killer of men.

I remember him walking up to me as I sat in my crib, Mom picking me up and then him taking me off of her with remarkable gentleness. And then he looked at me. I had seen shinobi out and about before but this was the first time one had truly paid attention to me, and I felt as if suddenly all my secrets were laid bare. An irrational fear that he knew that I wasn't a normal baby consumed me. That he was able to see through the lie I had lived for the past two years with just a glance.

Then he smiled and laughed at my no doubt dumb-struck expression. The cold eyes of a killer replaced with warmth and life. The change was so sudden that I just lay there in his arms, staring at him as he followed my mother to the living room, laughing and chatting away like he hadn't almost given me a panic attack. It was from then on that I decided it was in my best interest to work on my acting skills and be the best baby I could when he was around. I had no desire to be shipped off to be experimented on or brainwashed or whatever they would do to me. Was Orochimaru starting his experiments yet? I hadn't heard any mention of The Sannin, and Tobirama was still the Hokage so I assumed not. Experimenting or not, letting Orochimaru get his hands on me undoubtedly bad so keeping a low profile was the way to go.

Apart from that first meeting with Uncle Riki, the next two years fell into a rather dull rhythm. I figured out that the constant noise I was hearing was actually the 'sound' of chakra, if it could be called that, and not a type of baby-tinnitus or something around the middle of my third year. After which I felt very stupid for believing all babies were born with tinnitus.

I began reading by myself a few months before my fourth birthday which seemed to impress my family. Personally I thought it was about time. Uncle Riki would visit in bursts, a couple of times per week before disappearing on missions for months at a time. Most importantly, however, was the plan I began formulating on how best to get out the shit show that I knew was coming. Two ninja wars, an unleashed tailed beast, a brief attack by orochimaru. Nagato cratering the village, then Madara and everything that followed? It had been a decade since I had last read the story of the universe I was now living in, but I still remembered enough to know that Konoha was _not_ the place to be if you wanted a peaceful life.

My 'get out of Konoha' plan lasted all of two years before it would be scrapped.

-I-

I was asleep, and then awake. The transition was confusing, leaving me staring up at the shadowy ceiling and wondering what had happened. I didn't know why but something felt off, an unexplainable feeling of unease clinging to me. It took me about half a minute of laying there before realising what it was. The constant 'hum' of chakra had changed. It was a small change, almost imperceptible, but after hearing the constant drone of chakra flowing through and around me 24/7 for the past four years even the tiniest change was noticeable.

It took me another minute to pinpoint the exact disturbance, a hum slightly lower in tone than mine but muffled. Almost like it was coming through several layers of thick fabric. Looking over to the corner of my room where it seemed to be coming from nothing was out of the ordinary at first glance, but on closer inspection there was definitely something off. The shadows subtly stretched and bent at angles they shouldn't, previously straight edges of furniture gently curved and the title of one of the many books scattered around the room was warped, one letter being larger than the next which in turn was smaller than it should have been. Nothing that would immediately stand out, but noticeable to someone who was looking hard enough.

I stared at the corner, frozen. A dozen possibilities racing through my head, ranging from a weird night terror to horrifying monsters sent by some higher power to deal with the soul that remembered things it shouldn't, but as the minutes ticked by and nothing happened my terror began to fade. Surely whatever it was would have made its move by now?

Curiosity finally overwhelming what remained of my panic I sat up in my bed and looked directly at the weirdness.

"H- Hello? Can I help you?"

As soon as the words left my mouth I wanted to kick myself. 'Can I help you?'?! My parents both before and after the Accident had drilled the importance of being polite into me, but there was a time and place for politeness and this wasn't it.

Miraculously it worked, the silence broken by a laugh. The shadows and edges returned to normal as light seemed to bend around a translucent humanoid shape. A moment later a familiar figure was standing where the distortion had been, and the muffled chakra noise had cleared up.

"Uncle Riki? What'cha doing?"

The only shinobi In the family had just been hiding in my room watching me. I was pretty sure it would be safe to say that whatever was going on wasn't good.

"Nothing to worry about kiddo" Riki replied with a chuckle, before squatting down next to my bed so were were eye level.

"Just wanted to test something real quick."

"A test? What sorta test?"

Riki smiled and reached out to playfully ruffle my hair.

"Don't worry about it little Aki, you passed with flying colours. Honestly I'm actually a little impressed."

Oh shit. That sounded real ominous, even with him using the pet name I had been stuck with.

"I passed? I don't get it."

Riki rose up out of the squat with his usual effortlessness and moved towards the sliding door to my room.

"You're a lot smarter than you let on Aki, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

And with that parting comment he slipped out of my room without a sound, the familiar drone of his now unmuffled chakra fading away into the distance.

In hindsight, it was incredibly stupid of me to think someone with no acting experience whatsoever could fool a well trained shinobi. Sniffing out secrets was literally part of their job description. I didn't sleep well that night. Every interaction I ever had with my uncle running though my head on repeat, trying to figure out when and how I had slipped up, as well as what the cryptic test was about.

Thankfully I wasn't able to torture myself over it for very long. Uncle Riki showed up the next day as I was trying not to fall asleep in my breakfast while Mom and Dad discussed work. This was not an uncommon occurrence whenever Riki was in the village, him dropping by in the morning with a smile and a box of fresh pastries was practically tradition. This time however he had an official looking folder instead of delicious pastries and his smile replaced with his 'buisness face', all blank expressions and carefully controlled movement.

My mother was the first to notice him standing in the doorway of the kitchen, Riki having let himself in, and waved him to the table with a laugh.

"Riki! When will you learn to use knock like a normal person? Come on in, we were just finishing up breakfast. Are you hungry? We have leftovers."

Riki stood there, taking a moment before walking forward and handing the folder over to Dad. My parents shared a look. This was obviously not a normal visit.

"Hey, is everything okay? Did anything happen?" Mom questioned, having gotten out of her chair to try and guide Riki to a chair.

"Sachio... Akihiro is going to be enrolled in the academy next term"

Oh fuck.

The pause following that statement lasted a couple seconds before Dad opened the folder and began rapidly flicking though the papers inside. Meanwhile Mom began grilling Uncle Riki.

"What? _WHAT?!_ What are you talking about? Aki isn't joining the academy, he's-"

Riki cut her off by gently grabbing hold of her shoulders, locking their eyes.

"The academy has produced some good results so far, but the Lord Second is disappointed with the numbers. He has asked all of the minor shinobi families to send any and all children who show potential, the civilian schools are also being scouted for any promising candidates. He hopes to incentivize the larger clans who have been reluctant to send their kids for outside training by normalising the idea of the academy."

"Children with potential? Aki's never trained a day in his life, how can he have potential? He just turned four for Kami's sake!"

"He's always been smarter than kids his age Sachio, and the kid's a natural sensor... I tested him a little last night to make sure."

Mom's expression slowly changed from anger to desperation, turning to look back at Dad who was leaning back in his chair. The previously neatly ordered sheets of paper now scattered over the table. He let out a tired sigh.

"It all checks out with what we've been hearing. With border tensions rising the Lord Second really wants to push the new idea of a shinobi academy as hard as he can. The paperwork confirms it."

Mom turned back to uncle Riki, her desperation now clearly visible.

"You said the Lord Second asked right? Can't we decline? Or at least delay a little longer? He's only four..."

Riki didn't have to say anything, the look in his eyes making the situation clear. This was a "request" in name only.

"I'm sorry Sachio... But Aki's a smart kid, and it'll be a few years at least before he will graduate. He'll be fine. Hell, being a shinobi isn't so bad, I'm still around after all!"

His attempt to lighten the mood fell flat, Mom starting to tear up before she went in for a hug.

"...Mom and Dad aren't any more."

Riki let out a deep sigh before returning the hug, not saying anything. It was only when they stepped apart that everyone seemed to realise I was still in the room and staring at the unfolding drama, mouth agape and with my half eaten breakfast still in front of me.

I was essentially being drafted into the shinobi academy as part of a recruitment drive, tensions with our neighbouring countries were starting to rise and two of my grandparents used to be shinobi who were now either dead or MIA.

It was a lot to take in at once. And it didn't help when Uncle Riki moved to squat next to me with an awkward grin.

"So... you ever wanted to be a shinobi before Aki?"

* * *

**A/N**

My first story, and its an overdone SI/OC fic of a series that technically ended years ago. Yikes. This is more or less an experiment for myself to see just where I stand with my writing skills. I would like to think my avid reading puts me above average, but who knows? Maybe it'll turn out that I cant write for shit and this will devolve into a horrific dumpster fire. Guess we'll find out together dear reader!

Hopefully what I have planned out makes it at least interesting if not good, but that will be for the you lot to decide.

To clear up some things to avoid any future confusion:

This universe is _slightly_ different than the cannon one, mostly because if you look at the original cannon timeline it makes no goddamn sense or directly contradicts itself sometimes. Normally this is pretty easy to handwave away because its old history by the time of the actual series start, but because this story begins smack-dab in the middle of these inconsistencies I've had to shuffle a few things around like births, deaths, war dates, etc. I actually had a blast with the worldbuilding aspect of laying the groundwork for this story so hopefully it will still make sense.

The language and culture isn't exactly Japanese, but something close to it. This is because it wouldn't make sense for the world to have the exact same language and culture as one in our world when their history is so different. But more important to the story is to try and explain the weird fusion of Japanese and western culture and styling that the world of Naruto has.

Criticism is always appreciated, one can never improve without it!


	2. II: A New School

Things changed after the announcement that I was to be enrolled in the academy.

Mom and Dad became much more clingy, as if they were afraid I would suddenly disappear. Uncle Riki started coming around more often and began spending more time with me than with my parents. When Dad took me with him for work, the families I was introduced to would have a lot more scars and missing bits than before.

The games we would play changed. Hide and seek with uncle Riki got harder and harder until I could only find him by following the familiar drone of his chakra. The balls Mom would toss me during games of catch started coming faster and faster, and the stories she would read to me became more factual, and less fantastic.

Even Dad, who came from civilian stock unlike Mom, began making our children's games harder. It was a less subtle increase than Uncle Riki or Mom's games but he was clearly trying.

The reason was obvious in that they were trying to prepare me for entering the academy, but I didn't really understand the point of it all. Wasn't the academy supposed to be the ones who would teach these things? I understood wanting your child to have a grasp of the basics but this all seemed a bit over the top. It was only when my Dad took me through a clan compound during one of his work days that I understood.

We saw two Inuzuka kids even younger than myself playing fetch with two of the clan's ninken. These kids, probably only three years old, were throwing balls then racing against the puppies to see who could reach the object first, displaying a level of physical coordination I hadn't seen in civilian kids twice their age.

The difference compared to some of the kids I had met on play dates was staggering.

Mom, Dad and Uncle Riki weren't trying to give me a head start, they were trying to make sure I wasn't pathetically far behind.

For my own part I decided that some changes had to be made for my own safety. I was slated to join the academy as a child with "potential" so there would be many eyes watching me. Any major deception would fall apart nearly instantly and would lead to a series of questions I couldn't answer.

The best solution I could think of was to slowly let parts of the 'true' me shine through, so that they were just considered quirks or oddities. This meant dropping a lot of the the child-like speech patterns I had adopted. My reputation for being standoffish around other kids actually working to my advantage for once, as I could pass it off as me no longer bothering to try and fit in with the others. Thankfully this also meant that I finally was able to put a stop to incredibly boring children's games I was expected to play with other kids.

Compared to the long years leading up to the announcement that I was essentially being drafted, the three months leading up to my enrollment flew by. And as I stood in front of the academy gates with my parents I was confident that I was prepared.

I was mentally an adult, how could I possibly have problems with a school system designed to teach pre-teens? I had developed pretty good hand eye coordination from all the games Mom would play with me. I was a university student competing against kids younger than ten! All I had to do was coast by with minimal effort and spend the rest of my time trying to figure out how I was going to get out of this whole mess alive. Easy.

Then two six year olds clambered up the twelve foot tall gate in front of us, ran across the top of the wall, jumped to a nearby tree on the other side, pushed off of the trunk and disappeared from sight in only a couple of seconds.

I was so fucked.

  
  


-II-

  
  


It took but a moment once we had entered the building proper to be shown to a room by an instructor, where I got a goodbye kiss from my Mom, a comforting pat on the head by Dad, and then left alone in front of the classroom.

This was it. Behind the door was the first step to becoming a shinobi. A child soldier who would be forced to fight for his village or be hunted down.

When I imagined situations like this happening before the Accident I thought that this would be the most exciting moment of my life. I would study, make friends and gain access to literal superpowers through what I would learn here! It was every kid's dream!

But there was a massive difference between imagining the impossible and actually living through it. My hands were shaking to the point where I could barely grab a hold of the sliding door to the classroom.

I was terrified.

This wasn't a story dreamt up in my imagination, where the heroes would go through a couple of hardships before succeeding and making the world a better place. This wasn't the story of the anime I half-remembered. I wasn't Naruto or Sasuke, a main character with special powers guaranteed to get through all of this in the end.

I was a lost soul, trapped in the body of a kid who was being forced into a role where I would have to kill or be killed on the front lines of a war that was just beyond the horizon.

I steeled myself. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was survival. Survival and laying low for long enough that I could get the hell out of this village the moment I got the opportunity.

Just as I gathered the nerve to actually open the classroom door I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey there! You alright? You've been standing there like a statue for a while!"

A young boy, probably only a couple years older than myself, was walking towards me with a smile and a hand raised in greeting. A boy with spiky blond hair.

Once he knew he had my attention he sped up until he was standing in front for me, crouching slightly so he wasn't looking down at me.

"This is your first day right? Don't worry about it! You're a little small, sure, but most kids are a pretty nice, and all the teachers are too once you get used to 'em. So theres nothing to panic about."

The kid's friendly smile turned into a full on grin.

"Tell you what. Anyone gives you trouble you just come find me! This is my second year now, so that makes me your senpai! And it's the senpai's job to take care of the new kids after all."

The casual charm and friendliness of this stranger pushed through what remained of my fear. Pushing it back far enough that it was replaced by embarrassment, which of course lead to frustration. I was a grown man who was being comforted by a six year old child. What the hell was wrong with me?

I straightened up as much as I could, and gave a short, polite bow to the kid.

"Thank you for your assistance, I believe I can handle it myself from now on out. May I ask your name?"

He shifted back slightly, his expression clearly showing surprise.

"Uhhh... no problem? Just trying to be nice you know? Name's Minato, Namikaze Minato. Hey you know you talk kinda weird right?"

My blood froze in my veins at the name. I _knew_ he looked vaguely familiar.

I was nowhere near ready to deal with the inevitable shit-show that would happen if I stuck around Minato long enough to watch his fate unfold. Rising from the shallow bow I was still in I gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement, before opening the door to the classroom, stepping through, and shutting it as fast as I possibly could without slamming it.

Turns out there was nothing better than an even more terrifying thing to make you conquer a previous fear.

I could see why and how he could become the next Hokage though. Assuming he wasn't pushed into the academy early like I was, being a second year would make him only six years old. Six years old and he already oozed enough charisma to calm someone who was frozen in terror with just a few sentences? That was a whole new type of scary.

Taking a deep breath at the narrow miss, I remembered that I was actually in the classroom now. And judging by the amount of noise I wasn't the only one either. Turning around I noticed my future classmates for the first time. Thankfully most of them were chatting among themselves, with only a few paying attention to me. The most surprising thing about the group was that they weren't all the same age. It looked like I was the youngest, about a year younger than the next youngest if I had to guess, but after that the ages varied.

Apparently the Lord Seconds' 'recruitment drive' cared more about skill, maturity or willingness than the age of the shinobi-in-training.

Spotting an isolated desk about halfway up the tiered seating arrangements I claimed it as my own. I had no idea when we would actually start and had no intention of joining the conversations of a bunch of children, so I cracked open the book Mom had brought for me along with the usual school supplies and settled in for a wait.

Over the next fifteen minutes new kids continued to trickle in and fill up the remaining spaces, until the every desk had a trio of kids. My partners for the day ended up being a blonde girl who looked a good four years older than me, and a boy with unremarkable brown hair who seemed to be one of the oldest kids. He was probably a few months away from hitting ten if I had to guess. Thankfully they both kept to themselves so I didn't have to try and make small talk.

A few minutes after the last kid arrived a dozen teachers entered, arms filled with books and scrolls which they sorted into groups on the front desk. Their job done, most of them left leaving only three behind.

All wore the same slate grey shirt and pants, along with the military flak jacket which denoted their rank of chuunin or above. They were also all at least in their 40s, heavily scarred, and with two of them missing fingers. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were veterans, having taken up teaching due to injury or retirement.

The class was totally silent for the first time as the students examined the trio in front of them, while the instructors did the same. The head of the trio was the first break the silence, his voice much more raspy than was usual.

"Alright kiddos, listen up. I don't like repeating myself, so I'm only going to say this once. You will address me as Hiroto-sensei, or just sensei. The man to my left is Itsuki-sensei, the one on my right is Katsurou-sensei. Before we start there are some ground rules to follow. You will listen to what we say, and then you will do as we say. You will always address us with '-sensei'. You will respect any of the other instructors in this building the same as you respect us. If you do not follow our commands, or show flagrant disrespect to your superiors while here it will be noted. Am I understood?"

An unenthusiastic chorus of 'yes sensei's filled the classroom, which Hiroto seemed to find acceptable. Taking the clipboard that had been laying on the front desk he continued.

"We will begin the way we will start every day from now on, by taking roll call. Absences will be noted."

Without waiting for a response this time, Hiroto began calling out names from the list.

I didn't know what I was expecting when I pictured the academy, but this wasn't it. Especially considering what I knew about Iruka and Naruto's future relationship. The academy was still a pretty new establishment though from what I had managed to grasp, so I guessed it was just hadn't found its footing yet?

Hearing an 'Uzuki Akahiro' threw me for a moment, before realising they were using my mothers maiden name. Maybe because she was from a more shinobi leaning family than my father? Either way I called that I was present before anybody thought I was missing. Overall there had to be more than 60 names called.

Curiously I didn't recognise any of the names being called. No Uchihas, Hyuugas, or any of the smaller clans that I remembered from the Narutoverse. Maybe the Second's plan to get the clans to be more involved with the academy wasn't as successful as expected? I wasn't given much time to ponder this before Hiroto dropped the clipboard back on the desk.

"Everyone's here. Good. Now let let me finally welcome you to the academy. All of you are here because you showed either potential, drive, a certain mindset or a set of skills that may one day be beneficial to the village.

Without guidance those talents would go to waste, so it is our job to polish those traits and turn you into proper shinobi! By entering this room you have voluntarily decided to take the first step in becoming some of the greatest warriors available to not only our Hokage, but the entire Land of Fire!

The journey will not be easy. We will push you to your limits and beyond, but if you overcome these hardships you will gain power, earn the respect of your peers, and surely inherit our Will of Fire!"

Hiroto paused to gauge the atmosphere of the room. Sure the speech sounded nice enough, but it was blatant propaganda. There sure as hell was nothing voluntary about me being here, with the same probably going for a number of the others too, but it would be too much to expect a bunch of pre-ten year olds to recognise it as such. Many of the kids were actually sitting up a little straighter, puffing out their chest a bit more than was necessary. The thought that they were specially selected for their 'special talents' to become elite shinobi filling them with misplaced pride.

"I will now let Itsuki-sensei explain the structure of the academy, and your possible future." Hiroto said as he stepped back, letting the scarred man on his left take the floor.

"The academy has a special system set up to reward both hard work and natural talent." Itsuki began as he started to draw a five-tiered pyramid on the blackboard that took up the front wall.

"There are several tiers of students that will study here, but everyone starts at the bottom level." He drew an arrow pointing at the base of the pyramid. "Hard work, talent, a desire to learn, above average progress. These things will be noted by us and any future instructors. Work harder than your classmates, develop your talents enough, progress better than your competition, and at the end of the month you will move up a tier." This time he drew an arrow to the second tier.

"As Hiroto-sensei said, absences and disrespectful behaviour will also be noted, along with poor performance and a lack of effort. Slack off and you will be given warnings. If you don't improve, you will drop down a tier. Drop lower than the bottom and you will no longer be welcome at this academy. Only a set number of students will be in each tier at any one time."

Itsuki turned back to the class which had become very tense.

"The village does not have the resources to waste on those who refuse to work. Moving up in tiers will put you in a smaller class, with students more on your level. This means more individual focus from your instructors, and more access to resources to continue your growth.

The heads of the shinobi specialisation departments in the village hand pick students from the third tier upon graduation to fill out their divisions, providing an excellent path to becoming a Tokubetsu Jonin. Students who manage to reach the fourth tier are given personal training by one of our villages esteemed Jonin in three man squads.

Those who truly excel, who manage to outperform even the best of the best, can look forward to having some of the most powerful and influential shinobi among our ranks fight for the chance to take you as an apprentice. Established clans who see your exceptional potential may offer to adopt you in their families, hoping to increase their future renown by counting such a prodigious shinobi as one of their own, and granting you access to secrets that are forbidden to outsiders in return. Or perhaps you will choose to move among already established teams, learning not only from not one but a pool of elite Jonin teachers to broaden your skill set as much as possible. For those who reach the fifth tier your options are boundless!

Opportunity is a double edged-blade however. Stagnate in the lower tiers, and you will be left to your own devices. No special resources will be dedicated to you, everything you earn will have to be earned alone. This way we can ensure that the villages resources are focused on those who either work hard enough, or leverage their talents intelligently enough. You will graduate once your teachers have decided that there is nothing more you can learn from the curriculum, or when you reach fourteen years of age and pass the final exam."

With his speech over Itsuki stepped back, letting the class absorb the information. For my own part I just in shock. The finer points of the explanation probably went over most of the students' heads, some of the language he used certainly wouldn't be familiar to school children, but that wasn't the problem.

The whole system was ruthless. Brutal even. Social Darwinism at its most extreme. It rewarded trampling your fellow classmates for even the slightest advantage. Sabotage to bring them under and mercilessness to raise your own standing. Anything to gain those coveted top tiers of the pyramid. Not to mention anyone with prior training would have a massive advantage over others. Was this system still in place at the time of the anime?

With how some of the other students were beginning to size up their classmates, I wasn't the only one to catch the subtext of the system. It was a competition that would impact the rest of these students' lives, starting from before they were even old enough to grasp that concept.

I would have to radically change my plans.

The teachers gave everyone a minute or two to digest what had just been said before the third one, Katsurou, stepped forward.

"As Itsuki-sensei mentioned, your actions and progress will be constantly monitored. Part of this process will be done by tests, which you will only be told about moments before they begin. The tests may be traditional paper exams, or they may be not be. Preparedness for any situation is the hallmark of any decent shinobi, so expect to be tested on anything at any time and be prepared for that eventuality. For example, we are going to begin a test right now! Each student is to come forward and collect a copy of each of the books and scrolls on the desk. Once you have, you are to return to your seat and await further instructions."

Katsurou stepped back to indicate he was done speaking, while Hiroto and Itsuki readied their clipboards off to the side. The moment of silence lasting only a handful of seconds before the scraping of chairs filled the room as children rushed forward to grab their materials.

I and a few others saw no point is running up with them just yet, seeing no point in joining the crush. Not to mention the possibility that they were trapped. This was a test in a shinobi academy after all.

Once most had returned to their seats and no traps were sprung, I grabbed my own copies of the books and scrolls and began to inspect them back at my shared desk.

There were three scrolls. Two of them were labelled 'Test', the other had no label. The books on the other hand seemed to be textbooks of some kind, with titles like 'Beginner Mathematics' and 'The story of the Elemental Nations'. Once all the students had collected their things the classroom became silent once again.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Then five.

Many of the students had begun to look around in either confusion or panic at this point, probably thinking they had missed something. After the five minutes passed Katsurou stepped forward again.

"You should now have a total of seven items in front of you. For the duration of this test, you may open three of them. Anyone who opens more than that automatically fails. Anyone who already opened one of them will be docked points. You were told to sit and wait instructions, not begin looking through the items."

There were a couple shouts of protest from students who had already begun to look through their textbooks, but they were quickly silenced by a stern look. Thankfully I had managed to reject my first impulse of flipping through any new book I got my hands on so I wasn't one of them.

"You may now open your chosen items."

At the signal I looked at the array of books and scrolls in front of me, thinking about the next step as the other students began scrambling to figure out what to do. It seemed obvious that the idea was partially to gauge students' problem solving skills. Giving two tests and allowing us to open one text book to look for answers? The smart thing would be to open both labelled scrolls, look at the questions, and then choose the textbook that would help answer the most. It reminded me of an overly complex version of those 'read every question before starting' tests I would get in middle school before the Accident, where there was a question hidden at the end that gave full marks if you only answered that one.

But this was a shinobi academy right? What was it they always said? 'look below the underneath' or something?

I took another few minutes to inspect all the book covers, trying to spot any hidden meanings or messages. The only thing that ended up standing out was the blank scroll, all the other items looking like normal textbooks or scrolls.

Taking a quick glance around I saw that everyone was hyper-focused on their tests, with our three instructors standing at the front occasionally jotting something down on their clipboards and sharing it with each other. I clearly wasn't going to get any clues from them.

Looking back at my desk I tried to think through it. Maybe the 'Test' scrolls were decoys, and the real test was in the blank scroll? That sounded sufficiently sneaky and shinobi-like right? Following my hunch, I decided to unroll the blank scroll first.

The inside was just as blank as the outside.

Shit _._

Okay I had to get a grip. This test was designed for a bunch of school children, I needed to stop over complicating this. I had wasted my help option by over thinking this, I just needed to open the test scrolls and go from there.

The first scroll had only a few questions on it, regarding the set up of the academy and what was expected of us as students. Things we had just covered. Simple enough, they were just testing to see if we were paying attention. The second scroll was a bit weirder though. It contained what looked like a mix of mathematics and reading comprehension, something I was thankfully almost two decades ahead of, but after the first few dozen questions they veered off track. Basic reading comprehension changed to vocabulary, to asking what certain words meant to us, to then straight up philosophy questions about the nature of language. The basic maths questions gradually became more complex, before shifting to logic puzzles and dilemmas.

It was all very strange, and I tried to answer them as best as I could, but ended up questioning my answers on even the most basic questions. Unlike the previous test scroll I couldn't even start to think of what they were trying to get out of this and finished the test more confused than I had started it.

It didn't take much longer after I had finished for Katsurou to declare time over, which was met with a cacophony of groans and the clatter of pencils being dropped. With the tests over, we were told to follow Hiroto out to lunch for the day as our scrolls were collected.

It had only been three hours since I walked into the academy, and if those hours were anything to go by it was already shaping up to be a tense, stressful experience. And from what was said I was going to be here until I was fourteen.

What a nightmare.

  
  


-II-

  
  


Lunch was a brief affair, half an hour of letting the students mingle and eat as they pleased. There was even a provided lunch for those who either forgot to bring something, or couldn't afford to.

Probably because it would be bad to have underfed child soldiers, it would stunt their development into adult soldiers.

Okay that was a bit too cynical seeing as school lunches were a common thing before the Accident too, but I was still appalled by the academy system in general.

The source material for this world painted a much different story than the one I was in right now, and I was not prepared to begin fighting other kids for my future already. It was obvious that if I wanted to have the best shot of surviving I would be aiming for tier three on the pyramid. A simple job at R&D or whatever the shinobi equivalent was would provide the perfect balance between safety while still living up to peoples expectations, not to mention a good place to plan my escape.

I passed the lunch break with a number of other students who also didn't want to participate in the games around us, each of us quietly minding our own business. The time passed uneventfully, and Hiroto-sensei took us back inside. Instead of going back to the classroom, Hiroto led us through the building and to another outside space at the back of the academy.

Targets were lined up against the walls of the field, and scattered throughout the space were a number of stone circles. Each circle was perhaps 5 or 6 meters in diameter and filled with sand.

I could already tell I wasn't going to like this field.

Once we were joined by Itsuki, Hiroto began speaking.

"Welcome to the training field. While in the classroom Itsuki-sensei will train your minds, and out here I will train your bodies. The rules are simple. Follow my commands, don't try to seriously injure or maim your fellow students. That's it. Any questions?"

One of the younger kids hesitantly rose a hand, receiving a nod from Hiroto to ask the question.

"Uhh, what's maim mean?"

"To disfigure, or to permanently injure." Hiroto answered, before addressing the group as a whole once more.

"Alright, how many didn't know what I meant when I said maim?"

A large number of hands were raised.

"And so why did no one else have a question? I am here to train your physical abilities, not judge your vocabulary! If you wither do not understand something or are unclear, ask for clarification. How are you supposed to follow my commands if you do not understand what I am telling you? Each one of you is here to learn, so let this be your first lesson in this field: There is no shame in not knowing, only in refusing to learn."

The other students relaxed a bit after Hiroto's comment, the tense atmosphere dissipating after they weren't berated for not knowing.

"Now then, much like in the classroom this first day will be used to measure your skill level in various aspects, as well as setting a standard for what will be expected of you. Throwing, catching, athletic ability, and sparring to finish. On my word everyone pick a target by the walls. You will then be handed wooden balls to throw as accurately as you can at the centre of the target... Begin!"

  
  


-II-

  
  


Three hours later I was laying flat on my back in a grassy patch close to the front gate. Everything hurt. My muscles ached in ways I hadn't experienced in this life yet, and I could already feel a couple bruises all over my arms.

Things had actually been going okay until the athletics test, which had been exhausting. Even the endless energy of children had to run out eventually, and I had hit that point halfway through the time limit.

And then came the sparring, if it could even be called that.

The rules had been simple. One verses one, the match going until someone touched ground outside of the circle, surrendered, or when the either Hiroto or Itsuki ended it. This meant that every fight devolved into a brawl almost immediately. There was no fancy taijutsu, no martial arts, just a bunch of kids throwing punches, kicks, and whatever else to try and beat the opponent into submission.

Which ended up with me getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

I had never actually been in a fight before. Even before the Accident I had never been in a situation that devolved into a physical confrontation. Sure I might know the absolute basics of 'protect the head', 'stay low' and stuff like that, but all the theoretical knowledge in the world doesn't help when you are facing down someone taller, stronger, and faster than you. Hiroto had even taken pity on me and matched me up with the second youngest in our class, only a year older than me.

It didn't matter.

I held my own for all of about ten seconds, after which I was in the fetal position getting pummelled into the dirt. It only ended when Hiroto stepped in and called the match, the entire fight only lasting about half a minute. I did get an approving comment about 'sticking it out' as I limped away from the ring as a reward though.

Honestly, I absolutely would have used that out if I had remembered we were allowed to do that in the moment. At least I learned the valuable lesson that getting the shit kicked out of you tended to make you forget about everything else.

The day's activities were called once the last pair had gone at each other, and although there was still fifteen minutes left before the official end of the first day Hiroto and Itsuki had let us go early provided we didn't leave the school grounds. Which is how I ended up here, laying on my back, trying to figure out whether my left arm or my right ankle hurt more.

My contemplation was cut short as I heard the din of hundreds of children rush out the academy doors, the day officially over. Because I was focusing on my hearing, I noticed one of the hundreds of faint buzzing noises detach from the crowd rushing out the doorway and pause next to me. Opening my eyes I was met with the upside-down grin of the boy I had already decided I would do my best to avoid looking over me.

"Hey there Akihiro, first day go okay?"

I could only groan in response as I forced my tired muscles to get me off of my back and in a sitting position, before I felt a hand grab me and pull me to my feet.

"Don't worry about it, Hiroto-sensei did a number on us during my first day too. It gets better from here on out." Minato reassured, laughing at my state.

"Thank you for the assistance Minato-san, but I'm sure I can manage on my own if you wou-."

My response was cut short as he suddenly turned his head, tracking a flash of red colour through the crowd of leaving kids.

"Sorry but I'm gonna have to head out. Hey look after yourself yea? Don't freeze up at any more doors, and try to stop talking so weird!"

With a pat on my shoulder Minato quickly jogged back to the crowd and disappeared, not even waiting for my response. It didn't take much to guess what, or rather who, he was chasing. I was just glad that there was someone else he was clearly more focused on than I. Maybe I can use Kushina to distract him if he ever tries to get too close?

Wait a minute, he called me by my name just then, but I'm pretty sure I didn't tell him what it was. In fact I made a point not too. So how did he know?

Whatever, everything hurt too much to care about some kid, future Hokage or not.

I began moving towards the gate where there was a crowd of waiting parents. I could see Mom standing there scanning the exiting children, and it would be terribly rude to keep her waiting just because I was in tremendous physical discomfort.

Hell, maybe I could spin this ordeal into some extra desert at dinner? I heard from Dad that she was planning on making something nice to celebrate my first day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's chapter two done. I'm hoping to finish up the academy time over the next two or so chapters, at which point we get to start getting into the real juicy stuff! Thank you all for the surprisingly positive comments so far!
> 
> As always, criticism is appreciated as one can never improve without it!


	3. III: And An Unpleasant New Lesson

**IMPORTANT A/N: I've gotten a number of questions about the timeline, and while I've tried to respond to everyone who's asked I have included the explanation at the end of the chapter. I would ask that you read that, and if you still have any questions shoot me a PM or review and I'll try to answer what I can as soon as I am able. (also if you sent me a message asking a question make sure to check your inbox, I don't think FF sends an email notification if you receive a reply or anything)**

* * *

Minato lied. Things absolutely did not get easier after that first day.

Each morning started with lessons in the classroom taught mainly by Itsuki. Here we learned the base level theory of being a shinobi, as well as the basics of mathematics, history, and the beginnings of Chakra Theory. This was the easy part, and learning about chakra was interesting even if it was the most basic level possible. At around midday we would break for lunch, after which Hiroto would gather us up and lead us to the training field.

This was the painful, but bearable, practical part the day. Hiroto would assign us physical exercise to train our bodies, throwing/dodging drills to train our hand-eye coordination and a bevy of other exercises. He always pushed us to our limits, guaranteeing that the next morning the biggest topic of conversation at breakfast was which muscle group hurt the most.

The end of each day was sparring, which was easily the worst part. Because Hiroto's lessons were more practical than theoretical he would demonstrate a basic technique at the start of each session. Things like how to properly throw a punch, how to perform a kick without leaving ourselves open, and other things in a similar vein.

Then he would pair us all up and send us to the rings to practise on each other, which would inevitably deteriorate into a brawl after only a few tries. Hiroto never seemed to care about that part.

Depressingly enough, I had still to win a single round.

After getting the tar beaten out of me the day would be over. I would head home, have Mom 'ooo' and 'aahh' over my new bruises, flip through my textbooks, eat dinner, and then either play more games-that-were totally-not-training or read before repeating the cycle the next day. We had a total of two more tests in our first month, but these were much simpler than the mind-bending first day. Much more like the tests before the Accident, asking about what we had learned up until this point.

The routine was only broken up when I would have to try and avoid Minato now and then. Apparently he had taken his 'looking after the new kids' comment to heart, and would occasionally try and check up on me. Most of the time I was able to slip away, but I couldn't help the feeling that he was letting me escape.

I had taken the time to memorise the particular buzz of his chakra, so at least I had a little advance warning when he would begin making his way over which helped significantly.

The 'hide and seek' training I had been doing with Uncle Riki ended up helping a lot with that, having learned to lock on to a specific chakra 'frequency' during the long hours searching for the adult shinobi. It was still a very crude method of detection, only really letting me know when someone who I had memorised was nearby, but it proved its usefulness.

The kid was still far too observant for a six year old though, and I was sure he knew what I was up to. Especially when he would sometimes fall for my very basic evading tactics when I was sure he had noticed me.

I had overheard more than a few conversations between the many academy teachers about his astounding potential. Putting two and two together I assumed he just enjoyed the game of hunting me down.

The first big shake-up came after my first month. Upon finishing the day's sparring exercises Itsuki came up to me before I left, handing me a letter and telling me to present it to my parents.

It was a request for a meeting during the weekend to discuss something, Mom wouldn't say what it was about but the fact that it also requested for Uncle Riki to be there if possible meant I probably wasn't in trouble.

I hoped.

So that is what lead up to me sitting here, fidgeting nervously in front of Itsuki's desk, flanked by my parents and Uncle Riki, looking at Itsuki and Hiroto who each had a file and a familiar test scroll sitting in the middle of the desk.

Now I was a lot less sure that I wasn't in trouble for something.

After the drawn out greetings that were annoyingly common during formal occasions, Itsuki flipped open his folder and began speaking.

"Thank you for coming. As stated in our message we wished to discuss young Uzuki-kun's progress."

Okay so it couldn't be that bad right? The fact that he used my mother's maiden name in front of my dad didn't escape me, but not seeing any reaction meant that he knew about it in advance.

Now that I thought about it, maybe it had more to do with Uncle Riki than Mom? He was a Tokubetsu Jonin after all, so it might have been done on purpose to associate with him more than a random civilian.

Snapping back to the conversation, I was relieved to see I hadn't missed much while on my mental tangent.

"-examined his responses in the evaluation tests, as well as his participation during lessons we were pleasantly surprised. I must congratulate you on your at-home teaching abilities. Although Uzuki-kun rarely participates during lectures his level of mathematics and reading comprehension far exceed many of his peers. Even in the logic puzzles and abstract thinking sections he scored well above anyone near his age. "

Ahh... Right... That might be a problem. Especially because Mom and Dad never actually tutored me in mathematics. My parents accepted the compliment gracefully, but shared a quick, subtle look.

Well, time to start thinking of an excuse I guess.

"I will admit that we had some reservations at the prospect of one so young starting at the academy, but after examining his answers to the mental examination test we believe he is more than capable of handling the stresses of the academy."

This got me a proud grin and pat on the shoulder from Dad, evidently pleased his son was doing so well. Mom and Uncle Riki seemed much more reserved in contrast for some reason.

Having said his piece Itsuki closed his folder, allowing Hiroto to speak up with his usual raspiness

"In contrast to his excellent academic performance, Akihiro-kun's physical evaluation was significantly lower than his peers. While this is to be expected due to his small stature and still underdeveloped musculature, and he shows some motivation to improve, it is still a mark against him. A shinobi must have balance, so if he wishes to excel it would be best to focus on exercises at home, more than continuing to focus on theory."

This part came as no surprise to anyone, the litany of bruises I would accumulate at the end of each day broadcasting my ineptitude in the ring. Oddly enough though this seemed to have the opposite effect on Mom and Uncle Riki than the previous, actually making them visibly relax.

Once Hiroto was done giving his report, Itsuki turned to Uncle Riki.

"There was one more criteria we were evaluating over the last month. In Akihiro-kun's folder it mentions that you tested him for chakra sensing, correct Uzuki-san?"

"That is correct. I had done a basic test at home, followed by the classical training methods once I had confirmed it." Uncle Riki responded.

"As part of academy protocol we test all our students who are mentioned to have some type uncommon ability, such as sensing or an awakened bloodline for example. To this end we asked one of our top students, who was already familiar with Akihiro-kun, to discreetly carry out a number of tests to avoid suspicion. Not that we doubt your claims, but simply to verify."

…Wait what? Was he implying what I thought he was implying?

"Through this student's efforts we have been able to confirm that not only does Akihiro-kun have the potential to be a possible sensor, but also that he has a very limited level of control over it already, including the ability to roughly track a single person that he has had contact with, within a certain range."

That blond little shit! So that's what it was about?

Itsuki's last comment got me a very brief squeeze from Dad, who was obviously having to stop himself beaming with pride. Uncle Riki just nodded thoughtfully while Mom seemed a bit surprised this time. No negative responses was a good thing, right?

To be honest, this whole sensing thing was going a bit over my head. I was totally unaware that it wasn't commonplace, I had thought it was just the sound chakra made that everyone could hear. Maybe it was because I wasn't born with it originally that it just stood out to me more than others?

Actually thinking about it that didn't really make sense either, because someone could probably make a chakra-detector of some sort to filter out non-chakra sounds making stealth essentially impossible. Considering people as intelligent as Orochimaru existed meant that someone must have come up with an idea like that before.

Whatever the case was, it was clearly a useful ability to have. Only problem being that I still had a long way to go before it was useful as more than an 'X person is around the corner' alarm.

Having finished his explanation Itsuki leaned back, arms folded in front of him.

"Having taken all of this into consideration, We believe it best for Akihiro-kun to move to the second tier with the first group of promotions next week."

Well that was good. Tier three was the goal, and separating myself from the crowd this early would give me a good head start right?

Mom's tense iron grip on my hand and Uncle Riki's slight frown told a different story.

Having said their part, Hiroto and Itsuki standing from their chairs was an obvious dismissal. The family and I thanked them for their time and attention to my studies, and said our goodbyes. Dad's façade of formal politeness shattered the moment the door had been shut behind us.

"Aki-kun! Thats fantastic! Barely four years old and already making waves!" he said, practically bursting with pride, before picking me up and dumping me on his shoulders.

"Daddy always believed you were destined for greatness! Just make sure you don't forget us little people when you are at the top!" he continued, laughing all the way down the corridor. His good mood was contagious and it wasn't long before I was laughing with him.

It was only when we reached the front door to the academy and turned around to say something to Mom and Uncle Riki that we saw they looked a lot less pleased than us two. Uncle Riki still had his serious, contemplative expression, while Mom was actively biting her lip while staring at the floor.

Dad finally picked up on the mood and paused.

"Hey, Hey this is something to celebrate, why are you two so glum? What's wrong?"

It was Uncle Riki who responded.

"Yuji... shinobi teaching methods aren't like civilian ones. Students who show great potential aren't kept around and taught until a certain age."

"Wh- What do you mean? What happens to them?"

"...They graduate early, and are then sent out as fast as possible."

The good mood drained out of Dad and I as we realised what Uncle Riki was getting at.

… I really needed to learn how to lay low better.

-III-

The first day of the following week I headed back to the classroom after the daily physical learning with Hiroto. Exhausted, bruised, and continuing my losing streak I entered the room and made my way to my usual spot.

Before I could make it, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders from behind. Jumping a little in surprise, I turned to see a familiar grinning face.

Shuun Mori.

She was the same girl who had sat next to me on the first day, and the second blond to have taken an interest in me for some reason. After beating the stuffing out of me for the third time in as many days during the physical lessons she somehow came to the conclusion that what I really needed was an older mentor to "pull me out of my shell" and "teach me how to handle myself", and other nonsense in the same vein.

And being the brash, loud, and tomboyish girl she was, clearly that mentor was her.

Not that I had any right to complain. As humiliating as it may have been taking fighting tips from a seven year old girl, only an idiot would deny that she knew what she was talking about. A fact that was proven when she had laid out the biggest kid in the class in a matter of seconds during the first day's spars.

"Well if it isn't little Aki-chan! I had a feeling I would be seeing you in our special little group! Come on, sit with your big sis! Hopefully this wont be as boring as the usual lessons. And if it is, that's why I have you around right?"

I resigned myself to my fate of having to explain half the concepts that would be taught as she physically dragged me over to her usual desk. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was "mentoring" who, as while she was the undisputed best fighter and athlete in our class she struggled to grasp pretty much anything theoretical.

From the outside it probably looked like some sort of weird symbiotic relationship, where she would use me to break down any concepts she couldn't figure out on her own and in return her presence would discourage anyone who wanted to drag down the young kid to raise their own standing.

From my perspective, she was a leech that constantly hounded me around and messed with me. The only reason I tolerated her was because she occasionally proved useful, and not because she had basically become the closest and only thing I had to an actual friend since the Accident.

Absolutely not that.

"How do you still have this much energy Mori-san? Everyone else is practically dead on our feet." I asked as I was being manhandled behind the desk we would share.

Blinking in confusion, Shuun took a quick look around. True to my words she was the only who had energy to spare, all the other students slumped over their desks or trying to nurse life back into muscles that might as well have been made of jelly. She turned back to me, a self satisfied grin on her face.

"'Cuz im awesome. Obviously. Also do we still have to go through your language lessons? C'mon say it with me. 'Hello Onee-san, its so nice to see you again!'. Can you do it? How about just 'Onee-san', can you say Onee-san for big sis Aki-chan?"

I stared back at her with every ounce of disdain I could muster.

"We're classmates, not relatives Mori-san."

"It's super easy! 'Ohh'. 'Ne'. 'San'. Onee-san! Say it with me! 'Ohh. Ne. Sa-"

"I'm not going to call you 'Onee-san'"

"Ha! You just did!"

"Using a term in a denying statement doesn't mean that I referred to you with that same term, Mori-san."

This got me blank stare in return as Shuun processed the statement, reminding me that I was still talking to a child who hadn't built her vocabulary by reading Dad's meeting minutes out of boredom. Nevertheless, she clearly got the gist of what I was saying as a moment later her confident grin returned, and her hand plopped down to ruffle my plain black hair.

"You'll cave eventually."

"No I wont."

"Yea you will."

"I will not, Mori-san."

"Sure you will."

Unfortunately before I could deliver my cutting rebuttal of 'absolutely not' Itsuki opened the classroom door and walked in, effectively cutting off all conversation as he made his way to the front of the class. Folding his arms behind him and casting a critical glance over the assembled students he began to speak.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate every one of you. Over the past month you have worked harder, shown more potential, or just been more gifted than your other classmates. Either academically or physically you have proven yourselves, and in recognition you have been given this opportunity to grow further still so that you may reach the height of your potential.

Now that that is out of the way, these classes will take place every day after your usual school day. Occasionally I will be joined by Katsurou-sensei who you met on your first day, and together we will be teaching you more advanced practical shinobi skills than will be taught to the first tier students. How to hide yourself from other shinobi, basic kenjutsu and specialised weapon handling, improvisational skills. These are just some of what you will learn here. Much of what you learn will be built upon the foundation of what has been taught earlier during your normal classes, so do not think that just because you have been invited here you no longer need to pay attention to those.

And remember; should you not live up to our expectations, fail to continue your hard work or lose our confidence in you some other way, you will be dropped back down to where you were. Never forget that."

Once Itsuki was satisfied we understood the gravity of the situation, he asked us to assemble at the door and lead us out. The building apprehension that we were heading back out to the training field vanishing when we met a vaguely familiar man at the gate to the academy.

"In case you have forgotten, this is Katsurou-sensei." Itsuki said as he turned back towards us. "We will be heading out for a walk outside of the academy. Try to stick together and follow me, if you break off and get lost we will not stop and look for you, so I hope you know the way back to the academy."

With that he lead us out the gate with Katsurou bringing up the rear of the group. The first few minutes passed in silence. We were mostly ignored apart from the occasional passer-by who recognised one of our teachers or other students and would give us a wave.

Once we realised we were going to be walking for a while conversations started springing up between the other students, mostly focused on where we were going. For my own part I moved close to the head of the group so I was close to Itsuki.

"Excuse me Itsuki-sensei, may I ask you something?" I asked, getting his attention.

"One can always ask, Uzuki-kun, but not always get an answer."

Clamping down on my instinctual response to roll my eyes at his comment, I took it as permission to continue.

"If we are going to be taught the basics in the first tier of the academy, and more practical things when we are in the second, what's taught in the upper three three tiers?"

This got an approving nod from Itsuki.

"Excellent question Uzuki-kun, but you should ask Katsurou-sensei instead. It is his area of expertise."

Well now I was intrigued, there was a teacher that specialised in teaching the most impressive students? Thanking Itsuki I slowed my pace a little so that I fell to the back of the group where Katsurou was bringing up the rear, catching Shuun's attention as I did so.

Gesturing her to be silent for a moment I turned my head so that I could face Katsurou. Before I could ask he chuckled.

"Don't worry Akihiro-kun, I head you and Itsuki-sensei." He said

"I can't go into too much detail, but in the third tier we begin teaching concepts that are far more theoretical and advanced than the previous stages. Mostly on topics such as anatomy, in-field strategizing, creating and breaking codes, and the big one: Advanced Chakra Theory. This is also why most of our specialised departments like the Medic core, Cryptanalysis team and T&I snag recruits from the third tier."

Now that sounded far more up my ally, sitting behind a book was always preferable than slaving away on the training fields.

"What about the fourth and fifth tiers?"

This got me a shrug from Katsurou.

"I cant say too much, but those who reach the fourth tier are those who are expected to one day assume roles of leadership in the village. Clan heads, advisors, even the Hokage one day. That sort of stuff is expected from fourth tier students, so their classes are moved away from our normal system. This way they don't have to worry about wasting time attending classes with first to third tier students, and can focus on learning things like advanced world history, politics, international relations, economics. Almost all of them then supplement that with personal physical training from either clan members or other shinobi who see their potential.

The fifth tier is more ceremonial than anything else to be honest. The academy has been around for five years now but no one has achieved it yet, so it's just a symbolic goal for students. Anyone who reaches that title would have to be a prodigy in all aspects of being a shinobi and it allows us to officially open the door to personal apprenticeships and other options when you graduate."

"Other options like the whole clan adoption thing that was mentioned on our first day?"

"Exactly. Although I think it should be said that that has only happened once, when the academy had more or less just opened. The Kurama clan adopted a clanless student called Shinku who had managed to reach the fourth tier and who showed an exceptional talent for genjutsu. The mess that adoption caused led to the creation of the fifth tier to smooth things over in case it ever happens again."

Giving my thanks to Katsurou for the information I moved back to the centre of the pack deep in thought.

Shinku. I didn't recognise the name at all, so he couldn't have been super important. I recognised the Kurama clan name however, and knew that by canon they had grown significantly weaker so maybe this move might have been influenced by that?

Perhaps I'd track this 'Shinku' fellow down to ask more questions later. I loved my family, but it could only be beneficial to have influential friends.

I wasn't given much time to think before Shuun sidled up next to me, pulling off an exaggerated yawn.

"Man that stuff sounded boring. Who cares about history or politics? I just want to be a kick-ass kunoichi!"

I sighed.

"That statement just physically pained me Mori-san. If we do not learn from the mistakes of history, then we are doomed to repeat them."

"Yea yea whatever Nerd-sama. Anyway you wanna' know a secret?"

"I wasn't aware you were capable of keeping secrets."

My sarcasm didn't have its intended effect, making Shuun smug instead of annoyed.

"I bet I know more and bigger secrets than you, Aki-chan! I'll tell you this one though, on one condition..."

As she trailed off, I couldn't hide my smirk at the first statement. I seriously doubted that.

"I'm not calling you 'Onee-san', Mori-san."

Shuun groaned in disappointment

"Why you gotta be so mean to your big sis huh? Well, I guess you aren't gonna get the secret then!"

With that she stuck her tongue out at me before wandering off, while I just started counting down from twenty.

By the time I reached four she was running back.

"Okay fine! I'll tell you the secret. But you'd better hold up your end too!"

Too easy.

"I never agreed to anything."

"Doesn't matter, anyway I know where we're going!"

This actually got me to stare at her in surprise. By now we were well into the outskirts of the village where the houses and buildings had given way to small fields and pastures. The wall that circled the majority of the village, while visible from almost any part of the village, towered over us.

"What? How would you know?"

"'Cause I've explored all of Konoha, and there's only one interesting thing around here."

When she refused to elaborate I sighed, looks like she really wanted to drag this out didn't she?

"Well alright then. Where are we going, oh wise and merciful Mori-sama?"

Shuun laughed and slapped me on the back, nearly knocking me over due to the not insignificant size difference.

"That's better! Not quite there yet, but better! But yea, the only interesting thing out here are a bunch of small fields for farming animals. Not sure why we are heading over there though."

"You don't 'farm' animals, Mori-san. You raise them."

"Farmers farm, dummy."

Conveniently we moved around a small group of trees that had been blocking our vision as we bickered about the proper nomenclature of the agricultural sciences, revealing a large but low grey building. Surrounding the building was a number of livestock, the most numerous being chickens but there were a few pigs scattered around as well.

This was officially the weirdest field trip I had ever been on.

As we approached the building and pens a man walked out, waving to Itsuki who suddenly vanished with a shower of leaves and reappearing a few meters away from the man before bowing in greeting.

Naturally this caused a whole bunch of chatter to spring up among the children, who were more focused on the disappearing act, but what surprised me more than the teleporting teacher was the subtle ringing sound that it produced. Like a handbell being struck in a field of bees, it cut through the background buzz of chakra that I had learned to tune out.

Greetings exchanged, Itsuki and the man waited for us to reach them. Not wasting a moment Itsuki launched into his explanation

"It may not look like much from out here but this is where you will learn possibly the most important lesson you will learn under our tutelage. To begin, does everyone know where the meat you eat comes from?"

This got a couple laughs, and someone even piped up with a 'We're kids sensei, not stupid!', which contrasted with the deadly serious demeanour of the adults. Itsuki was silent for a few seconds before responding.

"Very well I shall get to the point. Okamoto-san here has graciously offered some of his stock to us for this lesson. For the next hour you will be helping him and a few of his workers inside slaughter these animals to prepare them for tomorrow's market.

The single most valuable trait of any shinobi is their ability to take a life. This will be your first lesson to separate you from your peers."

The laughter stopped.

-III-

Once I got home it took about twenty minutes to scrub the rust coloured blood out from under my fingernails, one hour of Mom running her hands through my hair to break through the dam I had shoved all my emotions behind, three hours to stop crying after that, and four nights to stop the panicked squealing and overpowering smell of iron from coming back every night as I slept. Desensitisation training sucked, no wonder slaughter house workers ended up with so many psychological issues.

To their credit, Itsuki and especially Katsurou were incredibly helpful. Having impromptu therapy sessions and helping everyone sort through their emotions instead of teaching anything new in our after-school lessons for the rest of the week. Even referring the hardest hit students to another instructor who was a Yamanaka who had decided to specialise psychology.

But even with all this there was a marked shift in the mood of the tier-twos as we were called. It was especially bad for the kids like Shuun, who were orphans and had no one to lean on at home. After learning that fact I had sat with Shuun for nearly two hours after school ended one day, letting her vent and offering a shoulder to cry on.

It was the least I could do for the only person I considered a friend.

Even with all the support however, the week after our 'lesson' a number of students voluntarily stepped down, reducing our group from twenty to fourteen. None of us looked poorly on those who had left.

All of this combined meant that when I felt the familiar buzzing of Minato's chakra approach me during lunch I was in no mood to play our usual game of cat and mouse. Especially since I learned that the whole reason he had been doing so was to test me on behalf of the instructors.

It was time we had words.

I noticed his chakra take on a different hum as I continued eating. The almost imperceptible dip in tone seeming to convey hesitance or surprise, but I couldn't say for sure. It was only for a moment before it started towards me again, Minato entering my peripheral vision a few seconds later then taking a seat across from me.

We looked at one another, not saying anything for a long moment. This was probably the first time I had seen him without a smile I noted, instead wearing a slight frown. He was the first to speak.

"They took you guys to The Farm didn't they?"

"Wasn't much of a farm."

Minato sighed and leaned back to look at the sky, looking far more world-weary than any six year old should.

"Yea, yea I guess you're right about that... You want to talk about it?"

"I would rather not, Namikaze-san. But I would like to talk to you about something else." I said as I put down my chopsticks with a 'click', watching Minato straighten back up.

"I would like to talk about the fact that you, for lack of a better word, were spying on me."

Minato froze at my accusation, before sighing again and looking straight at me, deadly serious.

"...You're right. I was asked by Daiki-sensei to test you. To see how long it took for you to notice me when I hid versus when I was in the open, at what points you recognised I was coming... You get the idea. He told me he had learned enough three weeks ago, so I didn't have to continue, but I continued because I thought it was fun and interesting. You continued to play along so I thought that you agreed. I apologise for not being fully truthful with you from the start."

I stayed silent, digesting his words. He didn't try to hide it and instead owned up to it, which was a point in his favour, and he seemed earnest enough.

"At first I thought you were just playing around, its true, but I learned from Itsuki-sensei what was really going on during the talk where they decided to promote me to second tier. I am not a fan of being spied upon by my own peers but I will accept your apology. That being said, I think it would be best for both of us to not interact further. Considering what I've heard from the teachers I am sure you are very busy with your obvious desire to be the first fifth-tier ever, and I have my own training to focus on."

Minato looked disappointed but unsurprised as I replied, nodding as I finished.

"All right, but may I say something first before I go?"

"Of course."

"I've only been here for a year. I started at tier one and now I'm tier four. People might call me a prodigy or a genius, but still treat me like a kid. Most of the other kids around here are friendly enough, but I can't really talk to them. Even the clan kids aren't on my level, and I'm not saying this to brag or anything. When we first met, I noticed that you talked like I did, before I started dumbing it down for the other kids. Even right now, you think we could have a conversation like this with anyone else in our groups?

What I'm trying to get to is: It wouldn't surprise me if you are a bit like me, unable to get people to treat you like you want them to. I meant it when I said if you needed anything you could come to me. Even if you just want to talk with someone who sorta gets it."

With that Minato paused as he stood up.

"Hopefully we'll see each other around, Akihiro-san."

With that he turned and left, throwing a wave behind him as he walked back into the academy building and leaving me with a lot to digest.

Looking back at it he was right. The conversation we had would have been unthinkable between any normal four and six year old, and was the first time I had been able to communicate with someone who was both on the same level as I and who was willing to treat me like an equal.

While Shuun might be called my first friend, she was still a seven year old girl. Whenever we talked I had to make a concious effort to dumb down my speech patterns so that she would understand which meant that it had just taken four years plus a few months to have my first real conversation with someone.

My first conversation between two people treating each other as equals and it was about telling them to leave me alone. How sad was that?

I was half tempted to believe Minato was actually like me, someone from a different time or world reborn into a different life, but I discarded that thought moments later. He had been some sort of once in a lifetime genius in canon, so his mental maturity probably shouldn't be that surprising.

At any rate I had dodged the bullet that was Minato's life, and wouldn't speak to him ever again.

...Probably.

Turning back to my half eaten lunch I noticed for the first time Hiroto leaning against the fence surrounding the academy a couple dozen meters away. I didn't know when he had appeared, but judging by the contemplative look on his face he had heard enough.

I could already tell there were going to be consequences to the conversation, but I couldn't find it in me to care at the moment.

Unsurprisingly, I was promoted to the third tier a month later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I get three cheers for childhood trauma? If you hadn't noticed by now, the time after the warring states and before the third war was pretty fucked. Also the perfect place to set a story in!
> 
> So, to explain some of the timeline shenanigans going on: I had mentioned in the first Authors Note that the canon timeline is a bit wonky, so I had to change some things around mainly focused on births/deaths/wars. The reason for this is because the timeline of pre-canon is SUPER compressed, to the point of absurdity in my opinion. For example:
> 
> We see Hashirama with a young Tsunade, somewhere between 2 to 6 years old, but canonically he dies in the first shinobi war, after which Tobirama reigns for an unknown period of time where he sets up the academy, ANBU and police force before he ALSO dies in the first war.
> 
> It has been stated that the second war started 20 years after the first, to mimic the real life world wars. So the Sanin have to be around 22-30 by the start of the second war. Then there is a third war, a brief peace, the sealing of the Kyuubi and 12 years later the start of Naruto where Tsunade is stated to be 51 years old.
> 
> What this means is that Tsunande was AT MOST 39 years old by the end of the third war (51-12) if the peace before the kyuubi attack was less than a year. Going with the most generous timeline where the sanin are 22 years old at the START of the second war, means that somehow there were 2 massive shinobi world wars that started and ended in just 17 years. Compared to real life where the time between the start of the first world war and the end of the second was 31 years. That's almost double and the wars were only a generation apart.
> 
> We know that in canon both Hashirama and Tobirama die in the first war, but that Tobirama ruled for a non-insignificant amount of time looking at his achievements, which can only mean the first war was a long one. So we finish a long, destructive war that kills 2 Hokages, to 20 years of peace, to a bigger war (if we are following the WWI-WWII reference), to peace, to ANOTHER war, to peace, all in a roughly 37 year period. By the end of canon there were characters like Onoki who were veterans of 4 (FOUR!) world wars.
> 
> And I don't know about you, but to me that shit is CRAZY. 
> 
> I made a timeline for the story so the shuffling around of dates shouldn't break anything major or leave too many plotholes, so just chalk up the whole thing to it being AU if you want. 
> 
> Anyway Story-wise progress is being made, character relationships are being set up and the foundation for future events being laid. Slow build so far, academy should be finished next chapter, or the one after that if I don't go off on too many tangents so please look forward to that!
> 
> Sorry for the long Authors Note, but if anyone has any questions still just let me know and I'll get back to you, while trying not to spoil too much.
> 
> As always, criticism is appreciated for one can never improve without it!


	4. IV: A Way To Survive

The leaf slowly slipped down my forehead, prompting me to focus harder. The sounds of the classroom had faded into the distance in my concentration, with every fibre of my being centred on where the leaf made contact with my skin.

It stopped, then slipped another few centimetres.

I could feel my tenuous gasp on my chakra begin to falter. The constantly shifting energy ignoring my will and slipping through my my mental hold.

The leaf detached from me and fluttered gently onto my desk, where it lay mocking me.

Had I been alone I probably would have unleashed my frustration by slamming my desk, but that would have been rude to the others focusing on their own leaves. In the end I settled for taking a few deep breaths and getting up, maybe walking around a little would help calm me down.

Katsurou joined me after a moment, his usual good cheer unaffected by my repeated failures.

"That was a whole seven seconds longer than last week! You're making good progress Akihiro-kun, try not to be so hard on yourself."

I didn't respond, instead taking a look around the class. It had been three months since I had been promoted into the third tier, along with only three other students. Since then the tier had doubled in size, with a new student or two joining us each month.

The weekend lessons that we had to take were almost entirely focused on the theoretical with the only exercises we took part in being based around manipulating our chakra, which is what lead to my current self-anger. The task should have been easy, just stick a leaf to your forehead for as long as possible using only your chakra.

Most of the other students were having a similar amount of success as myself, which is to say 'not much'. The average sticking time hovered around twenty seconds, with the goal being to hold it there indefinitely.

As the only kid in the tier with sensing abilities, no matter how underdeveloped, the whole thing was incredibly frustrating. I could feel the chakra running through and around my body at all times. The subtle hum of it's movement had been with me the moment I had been born, which resulted in an almost instinctual ability to look into myself and know how to utilise it.

And then I would try to reach out and grab it, only to watch it effortlessly slip out of my grasp. Again, and again, and again.

Apparently being intimately aware of your own chakra did fuck all with actually being able to control it. This was what lead to my constant frustration. Not the failure, I had grown used to that in the sparring circles, but the feeling that I _should_ be able to do this. That success was within reach, but I failed to grab it over and over again.

Speaking of sparring circles, I had finally begun wining some recently which was a nice change of pace. The extra practise and anatomy knowledge taught in the second and third tiers were slowly letting me crawl my way out of the very bottom of the groupings. Of course if I was ever matched with someone who was also tier two I still got consistently demolished, but I was no longer at the very bottom!

Continuing to watch the class struggle with their own leaves while my mind wandered, I asked Katsurou something that had been bothering me for a while.

"Katsurou-sensei, may I ask something? Why is it that I can hear chakra? I know it means I have the potential to be a sensor, but it just seems really... weird. Chakra is just energy, so why would it have a sound associated with it that only I can hear?"

I had thought about it now and then ever since regaining conciousness in this new body, but my recent frustrations with chakra control had caused me to take a deeper look. My first instinct was that it was because it had been a totally foreign thing to me after I had been reborn, so it automatically stood out to me, but something didn't feel right about that answer. I wasn't the only one able to sense the stuff after all. The Lord Second was a famously powerful sensor, and I was pretty sure he wasn't in the same situation I was.

Katsurou rubbed his chin in thought, taking his time before responding.

"Well, I'm not an expert, but from what I've read being able to sense chakra is a seemingly random trait that a small percentage of people are born with. It isn't hereditary from what we know, as it will pop up randomly in both shinobi and civilian families as well as often not appearing even if both parents are sensors themselves.

A common theory is that it is actually a remnant of a specific bloodline limit, which became so diluted centuries after the clan was scattered that almost every shinobi has some relation to it. Such a theory would explain why it can pop up practically anywhere, but doesn't explain why it cant be targeted through planned marriages so it just remains speculation.

What we do know is that it is called 'sensing' not only because it allows you to sense other chakra signatures, but also because all sensors are able to detect chakra through one of their five major senses. Interestingly, if a family produces a sensor it will almost always be through the same sense as other sensors from that family for some reason.

For example, our very own Inuzuka clan will randomly produce a shinobi with sensing abilities, but they always manifest through their sense of smell."

That was interesting, being able to smell a form of energy? Sounded a bit bizarre, but I was hardly in a position to judge.

"Wait, wouldn't that mean some sensor-types are just better than others? Being able to see chakra sounds much better than being able to taste it," I asked once I had thought about it a little.

"Well, yes and no. Each sensor-type has it's own benefits and drawbacks. Going back to our Inuzuka example, being able to quite literally follow the smell of someone's chakra adds to their tremendous skills as trackers and hunters. Especially since while you can mask your scent and change your appearance, you cant change the smell of your chakra from a skilled sensor.

However it also comes with the unique downside that if you are actually confronting someone, no amount of chakra sniffing will help you in a fight. Meanwhile someone who can taste different types of chakra might not be good at finding someone, but it's been noted that different techniques have subtly different tastes which would allow an experienced user to guess what their opponent plans to use.

Sensing is an invaluable ability to a shinobi but remember; just like any ability, reliance is a double-edged blade. Sight is considered to be one of the best sensor-types due to its versatility, but a large and fast enough expulsion of chakra such as from an A-rank ninjutsu can temporarily blind a sensor just as effectively as any flash bomb."

I pondered Katsurou's words. It made sense in an abstract sort of way, some sort of random mutation causing a particular sense to be more sensitive to chakra. It sounded like I would have to ask around to see if any clans were used to hearing-type sensors if I ended up with specific questions.

"Thank you Katsurou-sensei, you've given me a fair bit to think about."

He just chuckled in return, before handing me another leaf from a pocket.

"Well, see if you can stick it for more than twenty seconds while you do that."

-IV-

The first hint that something might be wrong was when I woke up in the middle of the night to hear Uncle Riki and Dad arguing about something downstairs. While not a common occurrence, it also wasn't my problem so I rolled back around and went back to sleep.

The second was when I was told that Riki would be meeting me at the academy gates after school. Again, while not a common occurrence, it wasn't uncommon either so I thought nothing of it.

The third and most obvious hint, however, was impossible to ignore. The atmosphere in the academy was noticeably different, and while most of the students were oblivious every teacher I came across held themselves oddly. Most were tense, some were filled were nervous energy, the older ones had an air of resignation around them.

Clearly something had happened, I just didn't know what.

Wandering over to my usual desk that I shared with Shuun,I found her napping, hunched over the desk and head resting in on her arms. Unsurprised, I unceremoniously shoved her down the bench to make room for myself, waking her up at the same time.

"Ugghh... Come on Aki-chan, what was that for? We've still got like ten minutes 'till Itsuki-sensei is gonna start," she complained as she rubbed her eyes and stretched to fully wake up.

"If you wanted to nap you should have just moved to the end of the bench. Or would you rather I climb over you to reach the empty spot?"

"Hey! You're welcome for saving you your spot you know. Next time just do the climbing thing," She said. "You're still so small I probably wouldn't even notice after all, are you ever gonna go through your growth spurt?."

I took my seat while rolling my eyes. She had one day decided to poke fun at my size, and apparently my defence of saying I was literally half her age meant it was a sore spot.

It certainly didn't help that she was actually right.

Before the Accident I had been just under six feet tall, which while only average for my country I still considered a decent height. And going from being able to look over people's heads to staring at their knees was quite the downgrade in my opinion.

"Hey do you have any idea what's going on? All the teachers I saw seemed a bit... off," I asked instead of responding to her playful ribbing. She blinked back at me in confusion.

"Uhhhhhh no? I haven't really noticed anything weird going on. You sure you aren't just imagining things?"

I shook my head in a negative. Wasn't there a saying about two things being a coincidence, but three was a pattern? Too much odd stuff had been going on over the past twelve-ish hours.

"Well I guess we'll find out eventually. Oh by the way I wont be able to stick around today, Riki-Oji is taking me somewhere."

"Whaaaaaat? You aren't trying to avoid your wonderful Onee-san are you? I can sniff out lies you know."

Instead of dignifying that wild claim with a response, I started the daily quizzing of her theoreticals. Shuun may be top of the class in the physical department, but she needed to prove she had more brains than brawn if she ever wanted to join me in the third tier.

The rest of the day proceeded as usual with me auto-piloting the first round of lessons, failing to keep up with the older kids during the physical portions, trying not to fail horribly at the sparring and then finally actually paying attention to the interesting stuff during the lessons for the second tier students.

Today's topic was about how to spot a shinobi attempting to blend into a crowd of civilians, which was actually kind of pointless for me. There was a marked difference between the sound of a civilian's chaotic and untrained chakra, and the carefully controlled chakra of a shinobi who was trying to pass their selves off as one.

Nevertheless the lecture and exercise was interesting, and by the time the lesson ended I had stopped focusing on the odd atmosphere that had taken a hold of the shinobi populace.

Heading to the main gate, I noticed the usual crowd of parents gathering up their children. I had wondered why the vast majority of the families seemed to be civilian for the first couple weeks of starting the academy, and after asking Dad had learned it was because most shinobi-focused families expected their children to be able to find their own way back home.

He had said it was one of the many cultural divides that had begun to form between the civilian families and those that had begun embracing the shinobi system after the formation of Konoha. During the Warring States period the vast majority of shinobi had been members of one clan or another, so when Konoha had been founded and allowed anyone to train to become shinobi those who had few other options had willingly given over their children to be trained so they could hopefully have a better life.

A series of minor conflicts and a world war later the surviving children were now veterans and beginning to train their own children, having a very different outlook on life and society than the relatively sheltered civilian families. This had lead to the development of three distinct power groups in the village consisting of the civilians, the clans, and the first/second generation shinobi families, all of which were at odds with each other and trying to get the Lord Second's favour. Dad would complain endlessly about the whole situation as it constantly made his job harder than it had to be.

I assumed the Lord Second was just as annoyed by the whole mess, which was one of the reasons he had begun projects like the academy and police force which were attempts to bridge the divides before they grew enough to destabilise the village.

Practically, all this made it very easy to spot Riki in the crowd. His unusually tall height combined with the way he was distancing himself from the other parents made him stick out like a sore thumb. Waving as I walked up to him I finally got to ask the question the had been bugging me.

"Hey Riki-ojisan, what's going on with everyone?"

He just smiled and ruffled my hair in his usual manner, but something about him seemed a bit more subdued than normal.

"I'll explain in a bit, but first walk with me. Tell me about your day."

Noting that we were not heading home, I mentally shrugged to myself and followed as I began talking. Riki nodded along and asked a question here or there, but it was obvious his thoughts were elsewhere.

Finally reaching our destination, a small rustic looking tea house, Riki and I took a seat and were immediately approached by a pretty young hostess who already had a tray of green tea and some small sweet treats at the ready. I watched Riki suspiciously as he thanked the woman I vaguely recognised from some of his stories.

"Hey Ojisan, if this is all some play to impress your friend or something, I'm sure there must be easier ways that don't involve me."

It was probably the first thing I had said today that got a genuine reaction from Uncle Riki, as he coughed on the tea he had just taken a sip of in surprise. Carefully putting his drink down and wiping his face, he turned back to me with.

"No, that is most definitely not why I brought you here," he said, his eyes glinting with amusement.

"Its nice to see you still have your father's sense of humour, but no. Unfortunately we're not here for anything as fun as that. You noticed that people are pretty tense right now yea? Well, it's related."

Riki paused to steel himself as my heart sunk. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a fun talk.

"You're smart, Aki. Everyone knows it. But I think that they still underestimate you. You hear a lot, but don't say much. You'd rather talk to people four times your age than people the same age as you. You read your dad's meeting minutes more than any children's book.

What I'm trying to get at is that, unlike your parents, I think you'll fully grasp the seriousness of what we're going to talk about."

"Wh-What do you mean Ojisan?"

Riki looked at me, dead serious, while my mind was racing in an attempt to figure out what was happening.

"War is coming Aki. We don't know when exactly, but soon. Maybe a couple months, hopefully a year. And I believe you will be expected to take part."

The dread I had been feeling from the ominous start of the conversation settled in my stomach as if I had swallowed a stone.

Already? I had hoped I would have a few more years to prepare, and Riki thought I was going to be on the front lines?! I was halfway to five years old! They wouldn't throw a prepubescent child into a war would they?

A small part of me wanted to laugh at that. Of course they would, Kakashi was only like six or seven when he became a chunin wasn't he? Burying my emotions as much as I could, I stared at Riki before asking what had caused this. I had heard rumours that things were tense but how had everything deteriorated so quickly?

"I don't know how long it'll take before word gets out to everyone, but the Lord Second was attacked."

It was my turn to choke on the tea.

"Attacked? Who would try something so stupid in Konoha?"

"He wasn't in Konoha." Riki responded, looking grave. "Tensions between the countries have been growing, and they weren't looking like they were going to stop any time soon. Encountering shinobi from other villages during missions was becoming more and more common. No ones died yet, but small scuffles are on the rise and it was only a matter of time with the encounters becoming more dangerous.

Hokage-sama and the Raikage decided something had to be done to prevent another war, so they decided to meet in order to come to an agreement. That's when he was attacked."

I leaned back in my chair, mind racing.

"They stabbed us in the back and tried to assassinate the Lord Second?"

To my surprise Riki shook his head in a negative.

"No, from what we know they were ambushed by a third party. The reports get fuzzy here, so I don't know who attacked, or what happened to the Raikage and his guards. Some are saying he was killed, others say he got away without a scratch.

Either way the attackers managed to wound the Lord Second pretty seriously, and while he is going to be fine it sends a clear message."

"...That they want the war."

"Exactly."

We both sat in silence for a minute, munching on the provided treats but too preoccupied to enjoy the taste.

"Ojisan, why are you telling me this? You said you hoped I would understand the seriousness, but I don't understand what I'm supposed top do about any of this. It's still going to be years before I leave the academy, how am I gonna take part in a war?"

Riki looked me up and down, sizing me up for some reason before responding.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that last point."

"I know you mentioned talented kids graduate early, but I'm still only in my first year. How do they expect me to be ready to fight?"

"Listen Aki, you've caught the attention of a number of important people. Your teachers are saying you're smarter than kids three times your age. Not exactly in what you know, but instead in your ability to reason and process new information which is, quite frankly, almost unbelievable. I've even had some department heads asking if you have Hyperthymesia, which means you have a perfect memory. The fact that I _know_ you don't makes your progress even more absurd. The only kid that seems to be able to match you is that Namikaze boy, and I've heard even crazier things about him than you!

Before he left for the meeting village, Hokage-sama asked me about you during one of my reports. Do you understand how unusual it is for a Hokage to take an interest in an academy student?"

The stone that had been sitting in my stomach since the mention of war grew ten times heavier. People thought I was a genius? The Lord Second had asked about me?

The only reason I was so far ahead of the other kids was the fact I had the mentality of a twenty-something, not some crazy genius level intellect! How long would it take for them to discover I was a fraud? And then what would happen?

Nothing good I imagine.

Riki leaned back into his seat, toning down his intensity a bit.

"Aki, I'm not saying this to stroke your ego or anything, not that I think you are that type of person. Your parents disagreed, but I thought you should know. 'Forewarned is Forearmed' and all that." He continued, mistaking my shell-shocked expression for something else.

"Katsurou-sensei and Itsuki-sensei both want to promote you to the fourth tier, but Hiroto-sensei has been blocking it. He is adamant that, while you may be leaps and bounds ahead of your peers mentally, your physical abilities are nowhere near ready to join that level of competition. And I have to say that I agree with him. Nevertheless with Hokage-sama starting to take an interest it's only a matter of time before you are moved up, ready or not.

And once you reach the fourth tier, well, graduation will follow soon after."

This was bad. Bad bad bad bad bad. I had overplayed my hand, and now I was being fast-tracked through the academy, disregarding one of my biggest flaws.

"So what do I do? Hiroto-sensei's right, I'm not ready at all. I can't even beat some of the first tier students!" I asked in desperation, and suddenly there was a shift in Riki's bearing. His previously serious and concerned expression calming.

"Well that's where I come in. I had a rough time convincing your Dad especially, but I have a plan. I even proposed it to the Hokage and he seemed to approve of the idea."

I had to prevent myself from throwing something at Uncle Riki as he trailed off, not explaining this marvellous plan of his.

"Ojisan, I'm stressing out right now and you being proud that the Hokage liked your idea isn't really helping."

This got a small smile out of Riki, before his demeanour flipped back into his serious mode.

"Right. To put it bluntly, I'm offering to give you some serious personal training. I asked the Hokage for a full year's leave, which he wasn't pleased with, in order to devote my time and focus on your training, with the caveat that if you don't show enough improvement I'll be put back on the active roster. I managed to convince him that a year of personal training combined with the academy training, was an investment that will pay off far more than one extra Tokubetsu Jonin running missions in the long run.

Don't think this would be easy though. This is going to have to be a two-sided effort if this is going to work. We no longer have the luxury of taking things slow. If you agree, I am going to have to push you to your limits, before you leave for the academy and after you come back, every single day. Once you accept there is no backing out, and no slacking off. It will be painful, and you will have to listen to and follow everything and anything I tell you to do.

War is coming, Aki. I need you to be as prepared as you can, as quickly as you can. So will you work with me?"

I sat there, contemplating his words. They thought I was some sort of genius on the level of Minato, but I was self aware enough that I knew I would never reach that level. The chance of getting them to think I was just a normal kid was now long gone, so the only real option left was to fake it.

The story of the first part of canon was all about how hard work beat natural talent, and while I would probably never be on par with someone like Minato I could maybe get close enough if I worked hard enough.

This offer was my best chance. My _only_ chance. Failure meant either death in the war, or embarrassment to both my family and Konoha in general for not living up to what they thought was my potential.

And knowing how important appearances and saving face was in this new world, embarrassing the village would probably result in death. Just look at what would eventually happen to Sakumo.

I could practically feel the lead ball of dread that had been sitting in my stomach firm and harden into an iron resolve. I had been given a second chance at life, and I refused to have it end as abruptly and ignominiously as my first.

This was my best chance, my _only_ chance.

In order to have any hope at all of surviving I would need to grasp onto this lifeline, and pull myself up with every ounce of strength I could muster. I needed to stop thinking of escape, and focus on survival first above all else. Living free far away from here would never happen if I didn't have the strength to get out in the first place

And as I thought this to myself, a strange thought crept into my head. Of another student, one who was remarkably like me, but a mirror image.

One who's physical skills were head and shoulders above the rest but who's book smarts weighed them down, not letting them reach the heights of their potential.

I stood up and looked Riki dead in the eyes as I gave a small bow.

"I will work with you, Riki-ojisan. But I have one request."

"Oh?"

"I know of someone else who needs your help just as much as I do."

"...Tell me more"

-IV-

The next day I wandered the halls of the academy, trying to single out the hum of my targets chakra. It was slow going, separating his particular sound from the dozens that surrounded me at any given time, but was still faster than just aimlessly walking around.

I had managed to convince Uncle Riki to accept Shuun as a secondary student, with the caveat that If he found her motivation or progress lacking, she would be dropped, and was now looking for the other blond I was at least somewhat familiar with.

As much as I thought associating with Minato would be dangerous in the long run, only a fool would deny he was a true genius. I thought it would be only fair to tell him about what I learned yesterday. He was probably in the same boat as myself, and the Lord Second's attention was a double-edge blade that I thought he should know about.

Plus any advice he had about my new training I would receive from Riki could only help in the long run. The kid was a fountain of good ideas.

Finally locking on to his chakra I followed it up to the roof, where I found him sitting near the edge of the roof eating his lunch while looking down at the field below. Wordlessly taking a seat next to him, I looked down as well to try and see what he was looking at.

The bright red hair of the academy's only Uzumaki clan member stuck out like a sore thumb.

With that question solved in record time, Minato spoke first.

"Akihiro-san! I'm happy you decided to find me after all! I was afraid we were never going to talk again after our previous... issue. I would like to apologise again for not revealing my actions after-"

I waved away his apology. He was just a kid following his teacher's instructions, genius or no. I couldn't actually stay angry about that, it had just been a convenient excuse to break contact more than anything.

"Don't worry about it Minato-san. I'll admit I may have overreacted a little, but what's done is done. I actually came to talk because I learned something... concerning, that I thought you should also know."

Minato's expression became pensive.

"I assume you are talking about the coming war."

"...I feel like I shouldn't be surprised you already know about it."

He chuckled at that, grinning ruefully.

"Adults tend to forget that even children like us have ears. Especially children like us. But I dont know everything, why don't you say what you've discovered, and I'll share what I know? 'Forewarned is Forearmed' after all."

I couldn't help my snort of amusement.

"You know that's the second time I've heard that phrase in as many days, after never hearing about it before? Anyway according to Riki-Oji,..."

I recounted much of yesterday's conversation to Minato, including the mentions of the Lord Second's interest in the both of us. Once I had finished Minato sat there in thought for a minute or two, processing the information.

"Apart from the rumours about me, most of that lines up with what I'd heard. Apparently the meeting was attacked by Kumo shinobi who were against the de-escalation treaty. A lot of people thought it was all planned from the beginning to assassinate Tobirama-sama, but I've recently started hearing rumours that the Raikage either died or was crippled in the ambush. The people who were there are being pretty tight lipped about the whole thing though." Minato said

It didn't escape me that he was apparently he was familiar enough with the Lord Second to use his first name, but looking back on it he had always called me by my first name too. Either way I filed that little curiosity away for future reference as Minato started speaking again.

"I'm actually more impressed with your uncle than anything else."

"What do you mean?"

"It must have been a hard sell to get Tobirama-sama to agree to give a Tokubetsu Jonin a year's leave when we are on the brink of war. Not only that but it looks like he's setting up a pretty elaborate long-term political gambit."

And Minato had already lost me.

"Could you explain that? I'm afraid I don't see it."

"Not a fan of politics I assume?" Minato said with a wry grin. "Basically from my perspective he is trying to set you up to be a major influence in the long run. You mentioned he had talked to both Tobirama-sama and a number of the department heads right? Well if he wanted to help you stay safe from the war, the obvious thing to do would be to downplay your abilities, make the rumours and reports sound exaggerated to make them think twice of fast-tracking you through the academy.

Instead, he offers to give you personal training and putting both his reputation and position on the line by essentially saying it will only take a year to get you to genin level, and if you don't reach that point he'll admit defeat and go back to his normal duties. By doing this he makes sure that the scrutiny and expectations from the higher ups will continue to grow.

Therefore I believe he is gambling on the fact that if you succeed, you will not only already be known to the most important people in the village but also have a reputation for being able to rapidly improve with the right resources and attention.

All of that plus the recognition of the Uzuki name would then place you into the perfect position to one day assume a position of power in the village, increasing the overall power of the new shinobi families' political circle. All you need to do is not fail to meet expectations."

I stared at Minato. That honestly sounded more like a conspiracy theory than anything else. Also 'recognition of the Uzuki name'? Looks like I would have a question or two for Riki when we start the lessons next week.

"Interesting, but I have a counter theory," I finally responded

"Alright, let's hear it."

"The reason he wants to train me is so that I, his nephew, don't get horribly murdered in this war the moment I'm outside of the villages walls, because he likes me and my death would make him very sad," I said with the most deadpan tone I could muster.

Minato just burst out laughing.

"Sure, maybe that's why. But any shinobi worth their salt should always be able to read what's underneath the underneath."

Lunch finished, Minato got to his feet and stretched.

"This was a good talk Akihiro-san, we should do it again sometime."

And with that he took a step forward and hopped off of the roof, landing on the ground four stories below us with no issue whatsoever. The abrupt exit clearly calculated as he landed directly in front of what could only be Kushina Uzumaki, almost giving her a heart attack judging by the panicked shout.

Watching him get an earful, as well as a few well deserved smacks, I couldn't help but laugh under my breath.

That kid was absurdly well suited to become Hokage one day. Even the possibility of an imminent war didn't seem to shake him, and I couldn't figure out if that was scary or reassuring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I had first considered naming this fic 'Praemonitus Praemunitus', which is latin for 'Forewarned is Forearmed'. Considering the whole 'knowing about canon' and 'knowledge is power' thing shinobi have going on I thought it was fitting, but 'Per Laborum' would fit better into the grander story arc so I went with that instead
> 
> Maybe I could use it for a side fic if I ever reach that point? Food for thought.
> 
> So yea, turns out we get one more chapter of academy because otherwise this chapter would become both A) incredibly long, and B) incredibly dense, with a lot of lore dumps and exposition shoved down your throats. And just like everything else, exposition is best consumed in moderation.
> 
> As always; criticism is appreciated for one can never improve without it, and all questions are welcome!


	5. V: My Own Path

My first day of training with Uncle Riki started with me waking up in mid air. I had less than a second to process the sight of Riki standing next to my bed, had outstretched in my direction and the sun just barely illuminating the night sky through the window behind him before I landed on my back a few meters away.

As I lay on the floor, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened, Riki loomed over me and dumped a pile of cloth onto my chest.

"You have three minutes to put those on and meet me outside," he said, before vanishing in front of my eyes with the soft 'ping' of chakra.

While I much preferred an alarm clock, the instant shot of adrenaline and shock meant I was already fully awake and lucid, so I didn't waste any time. Taking a look at what he had dropped on me, I briefly examined the plain grey pants and white shirt before hastily throwing them on. The material seemed sturdier than normal day to day wear, designed for either training or heavy physical work. Throwing the clothes on I dashed out of my room and towards the front door.

If Riki thought waking me up by literally throwing me out of bed was and appropriate start to the day, I didn't want to know what method he would use to punish tardiness.

Rushing out of the front door while simultaneously trying to put on shoes, I found Riki standing in the street with a stopwatch. Not even looking up he pressed a button while calling out.

"Four minutes twenty-three seconds. Needs to be faster."

Looked like I was going to find out anyway. With the adrenaline in my system beginning to dye down, I had to Stifle a yawn as I approached. Not to complaining about my wake up call was probably the smart move here, so I instead tried to guess what time it was as I waited for Riki to explain the plan. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, with the stars still visible so it was probably between four and five in the morning.

"We, or rather, you, will be running to training ground one while I collect Mori-san. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes from here, so if we haven't arrived by the time you get there you might want to start doing some basic stretches."

Nodding my understanding I took off towards the designated training ground. Due to it's proximity to the academy I knew of a couple shortcuts and managed to arrive with time to spare before Riki and Shuun appeared, allowing me to begin my stretches while looking around.

Training ground one was the very first public training ground created, and so it was unlike any of the others. It was located close to the centre of Konoha, not way out on the outskirts like the others, and was very basic. Just a grassy field with a fence around it so civilians wouldn't mistake it for a park. The training grounds got progressively more complicated or specialised the higher up you went, culminating in the heavily restricted training ground 51.

I had only managed to get through a couple stretches before Riki and Shuun arrived. After a brief 'good morning' with Shuun, who was still rubbing some sleep out of her eyes, Riki got our attention and began laying out the plan.

"Alright then, first of all both of you are going to do a quick warm up, just a couple laps around the field will be enough. Once loosened up you two are going to spar with each other, and then after that each of you are going to spar with me so I know what I'm working with. We'll break after that so you have time to shower and eat before the academy, before rejoining here after the day's lessons. Understood?"

Voicing our understanding we began the warm up. The field was roughly two hundred meters long and hundred-fifty wide, and after a couple of laps I could feel a light sweat beginning to build up. I still marvelled at the fact that something that would have left me wheezing and gasping for breath before the Accident my body did practically on auto-pilot now. The academy training making me reach a level of fitness I had never reached in my previous life. Not having asthma was also nice.

Honestly, probably the best thing about living in a shinobi village was how much it emphasised physical fitness. Unlike back home before the Accident, practically everyone in the village was remarkably healthy. Obesity seemed limited to the royal courts of the Daimyos, with even the average civilian making sure to keep active. Even the Akimichi clan were surprisingly healthy considering their appearance, more akin to professional powerlifters than the usual lithe shinobi as their clan focused more on overwhelming strength than speed.

Finishing up our last laps, Shuun and I jogged back over to where Uncle Riki was watching us, who then directed us to a dirt patch to begin our spar. Looking over at Shuun as we headed towards where we would face off I noticed that unlike my sweaty self, she was totally unaffected by the couple kilometre long jog we had just done.

Catching me sizing her up, she gave me a predatory grin as we squared off.

"Hey Aki-chan, just letting you know I'm not gonna go easy on ya. Your uncle mentioned to me that you needed a little tough love," she taunted.

Shooting a glance back at Riki, he just looked at me with no reaction whatsoever, but I wouldn't put it past him to pull something like that.

I was absolutely not looking forward to the inevitable curb stomp.

Facing off a couple meters apart I steeled myself as I took a basic defensive stance. Hands raised to eye level, half curled into loose fists ready to lash out with a punch or slap away incoming attacks. Feet shoulder width apart, leading with my left side and leaning forward slightly to present a smaller target I waited for Shuun to make the first move.

Mirroring my stance, Shuun approached slowly before exploding forwards when she was only a couple steps away. I ducked under the first jab from the left, sidestepped the follow up right cross and tried to close the distance but was forced away by a barrage of lightning fast jabs and swings which ended with a few heavy strikes on my forearms as I was forced to block instead of dodge.

She refused to let up as I fell back, advancing relentlessly as I attempted to gain distance and think of a plan. If anything the pace continued to ratchet up with Shuun's punches coming faster and her combos more elaborate as she began breaking through my meagre defence, landing solid strikes after solid strike across my chest and arms.

I needed to get closer to nullify her reach advantage, or else I would just be battered into a pulp by her punches. Pushing through the pain of the occasional missed block I did my best to weather the storm, waiting desperately for my chance.

Finally I saw my opportunity as Shuun went for a left jab, our not-insignificant height difference combining with the awkward angle I had manoeuvred to creating an opening. Ducking below the punch and lunging forwards to try and close the distance, I kept low, practically at waist level, making it nearly impossible for her to land a hit as I advanced.

The first sign that I had made a mistake was the crack of bone striking bone as Shuun shifted her weight and pivoted on her back leg, her front knee smashing into my temple and my vision flashing white with pain as I was flung to the side by the force of the hit.

Sprawled out on my back, dazed and confused, a shadow loomed over me. Snapping back to my senses I realised that Riki hadn't actually ended the match yet, reacting just in time to roll out of the way of the Shuun's follow up foot stomp. Still partially dazed from the hit to my head I wasn't fast enough to avoid the follow up kick to my gut, the world exploding with colour as I was sent airborne for the second time that day.

Getting the breath knocked out of me as I hit the ground and rolled to a stop, I vaguely heard Riki call an end to the match as I tried to remember how to breathe without throwing up.

A few seconds later the others were leaning over me, Shuun grinning in victory while Uncle Riki shone a small light in my eyes. Seemingly satisfied with whatever response he got, he motioned for Shuun to help pull me up to a sitting position.

"Well that was... enlightening. Why don't you take a short break while I spar with Mori-san?"

Not bothering to try and talk yet, I just gave a thumbs up in acceptance as I pulled myself back together. It may not have done much for me physically, but watching Shuun then proceed to get absolutely demolished by Uncle Riki in their spar made me feel a lot better about myself.

I may not have landed a single hit, but at least Shuun had to try. Watching her get effortlessly picked apart and thrown around by Riki was a nice bit of shadenfreude after my own dismantling. Calling the match after he learned everything he needed to, Riki turned to me as Shuun collapsed in exhaustion.

"We can call it there if you don't feel up to another spar?"

"No. I'm fine, let's go," I said as I slowly got to my feet. We were here for a reason, and I had given my word to give it everything I had after all.

Riki wordlessly accepted my response, but I knew him well enough to recognise the brief approving look he gave me as I prepared to get crushed yet again.

There was no such thing as easy improvement, and if I wanted to survive the coming shit-storm I needed a whole lot of improvement.

-V-

Several hours later Shuun and I were back at the training ground, waiting for Uncle Riki to give his verdict. Shuun was still looking as fresh as ever, while I on the other hand was nursing a welt on the side of my head from earlier this morning. After giving us both a once-over to judge our current conditions, Riki began speaking.

"I'll start with you, Mori-san, because there are just less things to say. Akihiro-kun asked me to include you in our training sessions because he thinks you have potential and I agree with him. I don't know where you learned to fight but you are far better than I expected. According to my nephew you are being held back due to your difficulties grasping the theoretical side being a shinobi, which would make sense as your taijutsu skills are easily adequate for even a fourth-tier placement.

Secondly; while your endurance and speed are excellent, I noticed that the power behind your strikes is lacking. You landed multiple hits on Akihiro-kun this morning, but only really managed to land a decisive blow when you baited him into recklessness. Our goal right now is to get you to advance to the third tier of students, and after that to get you as close to being a genin as possible. To this end I think it would be more advantages to shore up your weaknesses than continue to hone your strengths."

Shuun blinked in confusion.

"So we are gonna work on what I'm bad at ignore what I'm good at?"

"Right, I had forgotten your vocabulary isn't as developed as Akihiro-kun's, but that's the idea."

"So if what I'm bad at is theory, how am I gonna improve that? Its not like I can suddenly be smarter?"

"Of course you can."

"What? How?"

Pulling out and unrolling a scroll from one of the many pockets on his flack jacket, Riki revealed a storage scroll. One almost-too-fast-to-notice gesture and puff of smoke later a small pile of books fell to the ground, followed almost instantly by Shuun's groan of annoyance.

"By reading of course. Unlike the academy however, these books focus on methods to improve memory and information recall, as well as puzzles designed to teach problem solving and logical deduction. In-between chapters we will also be focusing on improving your strength through resistance training."

Reluctantly flipping through one of the books, Shuun perked up at that last part.

"Wait, doesn't strength training as a kid stunt your growth? That's what Hiroto-sensei tells us."

"Well, the easy answer is 'not if you do it right'. The fact of the matter is that, yes, if you damage your bones' growth plates it can stunt your future growth. This is actually easily avoided with proper supervision to make sure you aren't doing something wrong, which can cause them to be damage. The reason the Academy discourages it is because, as skilled as your teachers may be, they can't keep a constant eye on fifty or more kids at once to make sure they are have proper form all the time.

Now pick a book and start reading while I talk with Akihiro-kun, I'll be over in a bit in case you have questions."

With that Riki turned to me as Shuun wandered towards a shady spot with the book she had been flipping through.

"Alright Aki-kun, I'm going to be straight with you. Your physical skills actually aren't terrible for your age, but that's also your biggest issue. Your age. You simply don't have the size or power to compete with the others because your body still needs to go through a lot of growing. The fact that you were able to hold out for any amount of time against someone like Mori-san, who is taller, faster, and stronger than you by a significant amount is actually very promising.

Unfortunately, a 'promising' loss is still a loss, and if you lose a fight outside these walls, it won't matter how good of an accounting you gave."

"I'm guessing you have a work-around for that, otherwise you wouldn't be telling me this."

"I do. And this is where your intelligence comes in handy. I assume you've been taught how chakra is formed already?"

"From the combination of spiritual and physical energy."

"Correct. It's actually a lot more complicated than that, but only the scientists concern themselves with that. One way to to visualise your chakra is to think of it as a fuel tank, which has a fixed size. This fuel tank is being fed from two hoses, the physical hose which consists of your body's physical energy such as level of fitness, stamina and just overall health, and the spiritual hose which consists of your mental energy such as intelligence, willpower and experience.

These two hoses pour their energies into this fuel tank, where they react to form chakra which is then sent throughout your body. The more prominent any of these things are, the more 'concentrated' the energy that is released into the fuel tank.

This is important to understand, because in your case, your physical hose is releasing a decent quality of energy considering your physical abilities relative to your age. Meanwhile your spiritual hose could be considered the densest, most potent energy possible due to your exceptional intelligence for your age, resulting in a lopsided combination."

"I don't understand how that is supposed to help Ojisan"

"It helps because it gives you a significantly concentrated chakra. Remember when I said the fuel tank has a fixed size? It is a common misconception that increasing the power of your physical and mental energies increases the amount of chakra at your disposal. What actually happens is that it improves the quality of the energies, resulting in a purer and more potent chakra than otherwise, which you require less of to achieve the same result as a 'lesser' or 'more impure' chakra.

All of this is to say that because your spiritual energy is of such a high 'quality', it raises the 'potency' of your chakra by a massive amount!"

Uncle Riki was starting to gesture wildly, clearly pleased with this fact.

"Okay so I have more potent chakra than normal, I still don't see how this is supposed to help me not get smashed the moment I get into close range of someone."

This just caused Riki to grin at me.

"It's simple! Chakra is essentially a force multiplier, so the very first real technique any shinobi learns is to enhance their physical abilities with using their chakra. It's how we are able to reach speeds and strengths even the strongest or fastest civilians would never even hope to achieve, while seeing and reacting to things that can happen in the blink of an eye. And the more potent the chakra, the larger the multiplier!

Think of it this way; if chakra was a race horse granting it's power to you, yours would be fed on the finest grasses and spring water possible, while other kids your age would be feeding theirs gruel and puddle water!"

"I got it the first time Ojisan, if anything that metaphor just made It more confusing."

Waving away my comment Riki finished up his impromptu lecture.

"Anyway, while I will be continuing to give you extra physical training to increase the quality of your physical energy, we will mainly be focusing on harnessing and controlling your chakra to enhance your body. Your potent chakra will do the work of increasing your bodies physical capabilities when you are using it to enhance yourself, allowing you to fight on more even footing with your peers despite your comparatively under-developed body."

This time It was I who couldn't contain my grin. The days of getting pounded in the dirt might soon be behind me if Riki was to be believed.

"Alright Ojisan, how do we start?"

-V-

It took two weeks of training with Uncle Riki for me to learn how to infuse my body with chakra. It was a bit confusing at first as unlike the leaf exercise I was not moulding then expelling the chakra through one of my tenketsu. Instead I had to generate a constant flow throughout my entire body, which would then infuse every cell in my body with the potent energy.

The feeling I got when I managed to pull it off successfully for the first time was addicting. Everything seemed to slow down as my vision sharpened and reactions were heightened. A wave of energy rolled through me soothing my bruises and wiping away fatigue, making me feel like I could run a marathon without breaking a sweat. I could feel my muscles twitch and react to the slightest thought, ready to explode into motion at any moment. I felt like I could do anything, break through any obstacle.

And then I was immediately brought back to earth as Riki proceeded to lay me out in the following spar in record time, my boosted physical capabilities nowhere close to matching his lifetime of experience and training.

I was pretty sure he didn't even have to use his own chakra.

Laughing at my dumbstruck expression he told me that everyone had the same reaction the first time they learned how to properly enhance themselves. Once I had gotten used to my 'powered-up mode' the euphoria would fade and let me properly judge what I was capable of. Eventually I would be able to move in and out of the state without even thinking about it, my body instinctively knowing when it was needed.

He also mentioned that once my chakra had reached a certain level of potency it would start having minor secondary effects depending on my chakra's nature and unique 'personality'. A common example, being in the land of fire, was that people with potent fire natured chakra would safely increase the body's core temperature. This was useful in both dealing with cold, as well as for fighting off viruses and bacteria by mimicking a fever. Theoretically it should be possible for shinobi with incredibly potent chakra to physically manifest these traits to radically change their bodies, but to Riki's knowledge it had never successfully been done.

A brief memory flashed through my mind at those words, of a man covered in lightning and moving at impossible speed. I had no idea how old A had been during the kage summit, so it was possible he hadn't even been born yet. Either way if it was his lightning chakra that let him pull that off, attempting to copy it with whatever my own nature ended up being was certainly something to eventually look into.

While making my own version of A's and the third Raikage's unique ability was a long way off, learning to boost my physical abilities using chakra had a much more immediate effect.

Not only was my chakra control better than it had been after spending so long interacting with it, but I began winning more and more of my daily spars. Now that I could compete at the same level of strength and speed, my only real disadvantage was my reach. And while I had yet to win against Shuun herself, our spars became closer and closer while giving me plenty of experience in how to deal with my shortcomings in that department.

Two months after the start of our training I had gone from around the mid 50s to the top ten in the sparring rankings. Meanwhile Shuun had apparently shown enough improvement under Riki's 'book assignments' that she was finally promoted to the third tier in the Academy.

Unfortunately we weren't able to hang out in the classes together for very long as a month later, once Hiroto was satisfied with my improvement, I was finally promoted to that ever exclusive and sought after fourth tier. All of which brought me to my current situation of following Katsurou to the upper levels of the Academy instead of heading to my normal class.

It had been seven months total since I had first stepped through the gates of the Academy. My goal had been to take my time, not stand out too much, and then get a cushy back-line job in R&D or something while I bided my time to get out of Konoha without getting my head put on a spike for desertion. Instead here I was at the upper echelons, blazing through the ranks with the eyes of some very powerful people on me.

Either I needed to make better long term plans, or really improve my acting skills because holy shit this one went off the rails almost instantly.

Katsurou stopped in front of one of the many doors. Looking back at me he offered a smile and nod before wishing me good luck and sliding open the door. Having no idea what to expect I walked through the doorway to come face to face with...

A relatively full classroom.

I hesitated for a moment, the thought that I had walked through the wrong door flashing through my mind. The fourth tier was supposed to be exclusive! The best of the best! Less than a handful of students would push through the lower tiers to achieve the right of being a fourth tier, so why and how were there a dozen or two other kids in this room? It was triple the amount of the third tier!

The teacher, who had obviously been expecting me, waved me over and I approached him on auto-pilot.

"Excellent, right on time. Everyone, this is Akihiro-san. He is an exceptionally gifted child of the Uzuki lineage who started the academy less than a year ago! There are even rumours that he might even reach the fifth tier before he graduates, even though he started from the first. I suggest you all pay attention, maybe you'll actually learn something for once."

This got a couple laughs from the assembled students, which added another layer of surprise and confusion. The joking and friendly tone of the teacher, the much more laid back atmosphere, the fact that some of the kids seemed to be not paying attention at all, instead choosing to stare out the windows. It was all a radical shift from the much more serious and military-schoolish atmosphere of the lower tiers.

Speaking of the students, now that I was getting a better look at them I noticed two things. The first being that, while they were still older than me by a couple of years by the looks of things, they were both much closer in age to each other, and generally younger than a lot of the tier three and below kids. The second was that every single one of them had some sort of marking either on them, or on their clothes.

Hearing the teacher, who had introduced himself as 'Noburu-sensei', telling me to take a seat I wandered over to the nearest open place, my mind racing. I had a mounting suspicion about this class, all I had to do was wait for the attendance call. Sure enough Noburu began rattling off names, confirming my suspicions. Inuzuka, Inuzuka, Uchiha, Aburame, Hyuuga, Kurama, Uchiha, Akimichi. The list went on, clan name after clan name.

I was the only non-clan member in the class.

Slowly the pieces started falling into place, and I began to understand what had actually been going on.

By the time we broke for lunch I was furious. It wasn't the fact Noburu held me back and told me I would have to catch up on all the material I was behind on by myself, or even the casual dismissal from the clan kids. It was because of the realisation I had arrived at.

I was actually pleased for once when I heard Minato's chakra approach as I stewed in my indignation on the roof. Having someone to vent at would be nice.

Seemingly uncaring of my obvious sour mood Minato dropped himself in front of me with his usual disarming smile.

"I wanted to congratulate you on reaching the fourth tier! Looks like I might have actual competition now."

"I doubt it, I'm just a lowly fourth-tier after all. How could I measure up to the legendary Minato Namikaze, first ever fifth-tier student?"

Minato just laughed away my comment on his own promotion, but the glint in his eyes said he hadn't missed the bitterness in my tone. Before he could respond I continued, not even trying to hide the anger now.

"So when did you figure out it's all a sham?"

Minato leaned back against the railing with his head tilted, examining me. He still hadn't lost his usual air of good cheer somehow.

"...About three months, give or take a couple weeks," he responded. "I've always been a curious person, so when I found that there were no clan children in my class, or in _any_ of that year's first tier classes I began looking around. I noticed that all the clan kids go upstairs after arriving, so I took a peek one day while I was supposed to heading to the toilet."

Minato shrugged nonchalantly, totally unbothered.

"So why do you call it a sham? I mean you're right of course, but I would like to hear your thoughts."

I was more than willing to let loose anger that had been building.

"The whole system is built for the benefit of the clans! They get to send their kids to the Academy where they get to make friends and connections with the other clan children, and are then practically guaranteed mentorship by an elite jonin once they graduate! Meanwhile everyone else gets dumped in massive pool at the bottom where we have to fight and claw at each other for the _privilege_ to be given the same chances as those kids have.

The whole reason we have tiers is a joke! The clans would never allow their children to be lumped in with the masses, so those with potential have to jump through these ridiculous hoops just to satisfy their egos. Meanwhile, they train the rabble so they are just competent enough to carry out the menial work around the village, while giving the clans' children the best training and education they can get, allowing them to hold onto their power!"

Minato just nodded along, waiting for me to finish before responding.

"You're right of course. The Academy _was_ designed purely for the clans, but I think you're missing the bigger picture. I'm sure you remember why Tobirama-sama started the Academy, right? To mend the rifts between the different factions? That's exactly what the Academy is doing."

"How does this increase the cohesiveness of the village? The system encourages division, not unity!"

"But that's where you're wrong," Minato leaned forward as he spoke. "You see, the truth of the matter is that the civilians and shinobi families? They don't matter. Not right now at least. This is why your uncle put you in the position he did. He must have known the true purpose of the Academy, and now you are in the perfect position to one day make real change in the power structure of Konoha.

Right now the power, the _true_ power, resides in the clans. Each one of them are able to field scores of skilled, hardened shinobi, taught with methods that have been tried and tested by hundreds of years of conflict.

If it weren't for Tobirama-sama's own power and influence they would have begun actively sabotaging each other for more power, instead of just keeping it to the political arena. Tobirma-sama knows the situation can't last like this, so he created the Academy.

You are right in that the clans send their kids here to be taught and in doing so form connections. But more importantly, they form _friendships_. Friendships outside their own clans. And even more importantly, friendships outside any clan at all. Most of the clan heads are past their prime, so it's only a matter of time before they start being replaced by their heirs. Their heirs who now have friendships and rivalries with both other heirs and those who have proven themselves while never belonging to a clan.

Think of how different those heirs will be to their parents. A generation more focused on building up Konoha instead of their own personal power. The clans are Konoha's pillars of strength, if they are at each other's throats then no number of civilians or shinobi families would stop us from falling. But if they see the value in true co-operation with their peers? If they truly began to believe in The Will of Fire? Then Konoha would never fall."

Minato's words sent a chill up my spine. I was reminded of my first thoughts when I had learned about the Academy tiers. It wasn't just the lower tiers, the whole system was designed to manipulate. It was a genius system designed to trick the clans into eventually putting Konoha above their own personal power through targeting their children, by offering them something they would be idiots to refuse. The fact that the lower tiers ended up trained enough to do the mundane tasks of running the village was just an extra bonus, with the goal of improving their lot once the foundation had been solidified.

My shock must have been easy to see, as Minato once again laid back against the railing still smiling and looking perfectly pleased with himself.

"Honestly it isn't a terrible system, until the clans have been put in check. Those who show enough promise from the lower levels aren't totally abandoned. And once the clans aren't about to turn on one another at the drop of a hat we can start really helping everyone else."

Bullshit. It was a fundamentally broken system. Granting a select few positions above everyone else just because they were born to the right family wasn't a good system. It was the direct antithesis of the idea of equality, one of the foundations of my home before the Accident. Even if the idea was to promote said equality later on, systems which had gained momentum over decades became harder and harder to change.

"So if you knew the whole thing was a sham, why did you try to rise so far? Why go after the fifth-tier so badly if the whole tier system is just to manipulate us? Why not just stay at fourth-tier?"

For the first time Minato's smile vanished, along with his air of pleasantness. The glint in his eyes becoming hard instead of curious.

"The clans think they hold all the power. The current system favours them at every turn, and the only person they fear is Tobirama-sama. Do you know how humiliating it is for them that a nameless orphan made a fool of not only their children, but their traditions that they followed to train those children?

I refuse to let people like that have a say in the Hokages' dreams, Akihiro-san. I started at the bottom tier, and now I am the first fifth-tier student the Academy has ever had. I have reached higher than any clan kid, and I wont stop here. I wont stop until I have the power to break their choke-hold on this village, and Konoha is the place the Hashirama-sama dreamt it could be.

The more important question is, what are _you_ going to do Akihiro-san? Are you going to give up? Run and hide? pretend that everything is fine the way it is?

We are the ones who will change the world, and it is up to us to figure out what kind of world we want to make."

-V-

Minato had left without waiting for an answer. Probably because he knew I didn't have one.

What was I going to do? The question refused to leave my mind. It swirled around and around, and as the months rolled past I spent any free moment I had in quiet introspection.

Before the Accident, I felt the answer would have been obvious. Liberté, égalité, fraternité as our French neighbours would say. They were the ultimate ideals to strive for in old world.

But I wasn't in my old world any more.

I was in a different world, with different customs and different morals. This was a world of child soldiers, military dictatorships and magic. The daimyo's were royal families who still wielded vast amounts of personal power, something my old world had tried to leave behind centuries ago.

The morals and ethics of my old life had no place in a world like this.

The simple fact was that I wasn't a revolutionary. Unlike what Minato believed, and Uncle Riki probably wanted, I simply wasn't. I had never been the one to take up arms, literal or metaphorical, and crusade for change. I had always been content to go with the flow, carve out my own little piece of home and just live my life. Revolution often ended up worse than what had come before, no matter the starting intention, and people always died to get there.

But the more I thought about it the more I understood that I couldn't just sit this one out. This story might have ended nicely enough in canon, but how many people had died to get there? How much senseless bloodshed had led up to Madara's ultimate plan? And more importantly, how close had it all come to failure?

Too close. And worse, my very presence in this world meant that it is possible that I had already done something to change it all. The butterfly effect was a bitch, and if I ended up working on knowledge that was already incorrect I had a good chance of just making things worse!

The only option was to act pro-actively. Prevent the fourth war from ever occurring in the first place. Minato was right. If I wanted to change anything, I first needed the power to do so.

Power like that of a Hidden Village.

Minato would be Hokage, there was no doubt in my mind. The kid didn't have my experience of another life and yet was more intelligent and observant than I. He was charismatic and his confidence was unshakable, while not being overly proud or arrogant. He was probably familiar with the current people in charge, as his use of first names hinted at.

In short, he was quite literally the perfect leader.

But he was a revolutionary, our talk had made that clear. And as history has shown again and again, when the people in power are at risk of losing that power they become scared. They would put all the resources they could spare into getting their own man as a leader. An attempt that would be doomed to failure, with Minato being Minato, which meant they would have to go with the second option. Getting an 'in' with the new power in order to secure what power they could.

Minato's charismatic abilities would win over the next generation of clan heirs, that was never in question, but the current clan heads would never accept Minato due to the risk he posed to their power. They would want someone more pliable, someone more likely to continue the status quo, someone who was powerful enough that Minato would have to pay attention to them, to act on their behalf. If that person was already familiar with and respected by Minato? Well that would be even better.

Political favours, powerful secrets, perhaps even special techniques and teachings would be given to whoever they chose. Anything to draw that person to their side. Anything to let them hold on to their power for just a little bit longer.

All that had to be done was show them the appropriate candidate.

After months of introspection and meditation, my path was clear. Riki would disapprove, Minato might even feel a little betrayed, but I was resolute. They both wanted to mould me into something that I wasn't. They both wanted me to pick up their separate banners and fight their fight. More power for the shinobi families or stripping the clans of their power, all for what they considered 'the future of Konoha'.

But they didn't know what I knew. They didn't realise their way lead to disaster and death for tens of thousands of men, women and children. The true enemy was outside of the villages walls, not 'the clans' or 'the other political powers', and I would never be free from the eventual destruction he would cause unless I was powerful enough to stop him.

The road I travelled was a well maintained dirt one, shadowed by dozens of carefully tended trees which lead up to a massive, traditional walled complex in the outskirts of the village. Knocking on the giant wooden doors of the entrance gate, each emblazoned with a stylised wing painted in red, I waited for them to open, revealing a plainly dressed manservant. I gave the politest and most formal bow I could before speaking.

"Good evening, may I speak with Kurama Shinku? I believe he is expecting me, I sent a letter a week ago."

What better clan to start with than the one who had proven to be willing to let a non-clan member join them? All I had to do was to make myself known and available to them, and the rest would simply fall into place over time.

And then, once they had given me all they could give, I would abandon them to help usher in the new generation of clan heads. Those heirs who were being influenced by Minato would be far more open to his ideals of equality and a prosperous Konoha which could only help in the long run.

I wasn't, and never would be, a revolutionary. But that didn't mean I couldn't help the cause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real training begins, and the chess pieces are starting to make their own moves. Next chapter, one of the horsemen begins their ride. Also low-level fight scenes are painfully difficult to write.
> 
> Fun Fact: the whole chakra explanation is actually how chakra works in canon. The idea of 'expanding chakra reserves', or somehow training to get more chakra is purely fanon. Kakashi even mentions that chakra reserves are genetic and determined at birth! I had originally planned on a slightly different explanation, but after doing a little bit of research I realised that the straight up canon version actually works even better for my purposes.
> 
> The whole chakra enhancing thing though I made up whole cloth, partially inspired by A's lightning cloak from canon, and there is one other person I would consider to have perfected their own version of that ability, although it takes on an entirely different form.
> 
> As always, criticism is appreciated for one can never improve without it!


	6. VI: The Red Horseman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT A/N: The names and places mentioned in this chapter and for the rest of the story are from a map created by an artist call "Fire-Daimyo", who has kindly given me permission to use their work. I have made a couple very minor edits based only on the borders to show how the borders will change over time. There will be a link in my profile page which I highly suggest checking out to both support their work, and understand the locations of the places characters talk about in both this chapter and in the future.

I dodged the punch aimed at my head by ducking, before dashing forward and landing two strikes on my opponent. They didn't seem to have much effect, forcing me to pivot away and make distance before he could take advantage of my closeness to utilise his preferred style of martial arts. Taking a few seconds to catch my breath and size up my opponent I couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction.

He was slowly being worn down by the dozens of clean, if not very powerful, hits while I had only taken a handful of glancing blows. Sure he only needed one clean hit to end the match, but the chakra flowing through me gave me enough speed to avoid the worst of it.

He was favouring his left after taking a particularly nasty blow to his right knee, so I waited for him to lead with it as we circled each other. Seeing the was my opening present itself I surged forward to finish the fight. Sliding to his right with the idea of targeting his leg to finally bring him down I was taken by surprise when he dropped almost to his knees, before he launched himself in towards me with the last of his strength.

The move caught me flatfooted, forcing me to improvise. Blocking was out of the question, he would crush me under his far greater bulk without even trying. His spread arms meant that dodging to the left or right would result in me being grappled and dragged down with him. The only option was up and over.

Waiting until the last possible moment I slapped my hands down on the back of his shoulders and shoved, pushing him down at the same time as I attempted to vault over his flying tackle. Just as I thought I had cleared him I felt something grab a hold of my left foot, before the world spun as my opponent twisted a full one-eighty degrees in mid-air while holding on to me. Our positions now reversed, with him above and I below, I had barely enough time to brace for the impact before I crashed into the ground followed shortly by my opponent landing on top of me.

Once on the floor the battle was practically over. Once we were on the ground my personal style of dodging in and out with relatively weak but fast strikes was at a severe disadvantage against the Akimichi's family style, which focused on using their overwhelming size and strength to force opponents into submission. The spar was called a few seconds later, Noburu calling the match once I was obviously unable to break out of the chokehold.

Releasing me, my opponent rolled off to the side sucking in giant lungfuls of air as I struggled to sit up. Getting landed on by an Akimichi was never a fun experience, and I was sure to have a single large bruise all over my chest by the time I met up with Uncle Riki and Shuun. Getting to my feet as the next two combatants were called to the ring I offered my hand to my fellow student.

Teinei Akimichi was huge compared to many of our classmates. Easily a head and a half taller and at least three time heavier than myself, the kid was built like a brick shithouse. This combined with the fact that he and I were ranked 11th and 12th respectively while both of us attempted to break into the top ten meant that Noburu constantly put us up against each other. The loss stung, but it was hard to take it too personally.

"I wasn't expecting that last move at all. It looked more like something one of the Inuzuka's would pull off, not at all like your usual style," I said as we limped off the field together to make way for said brothers to enter the ring. The older one, clearly hearing my comment, grinned and clapped Teinei on the shoulder as they passed.

"Well you had me on the ropes there for most of the fight. Desperate times calling for desperate measures and all that," he answered with a rueful smile.

"Hard not to pick up on some of what they do, especially when it works so well."

He had a point. The top ten spots were currently dominated by our Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Inuzuka classmates, their families' focus on close combat giving them an undeniable advantage in the ring. It was also a testament to the Academy's subtle manipulation of making the clans work together that my classmates were beginning to pick up and copy each other's distinct styles to supplement their own personal arsenal. Something I couldn't actually talk badly about without being a massive hypocrite seeing as I had more or less copied the foundations of my own fast-moving style from our sole Hyuuga classmate.

Sure it was an underhanded manipulation of schoolchildren, but it was a genuinely good system to help us all improve in this case.

"Hey Akihiro-san, are you going to come to Makkuro's party tomorrow? I know you haven't been to the Nara's compound before so let me know if you need me to help show you the way," Teinei offered once we had taken our seats.

Pretending to think about it, I turned to Teinei.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm sure I will be able to find my way. There is also the fact that I wouldn't want to keep you waiting while I did my after-school training with Riki-oji. Makkuro already knows I'll be showing up a bit later than the rest."

Hearing his name twice now, the subject of our conversation, Makkuro Nara looked at us from where he was seated a few places down the line before shrugging at our nods of acknowledgement and going back to fiddling with his traditional Nara ponytail.

My plan of introducing myself to the clans had been slow going at first, with me trying to avoid too much notice from either Minato or Riki. It may have been embarrassing that it took a couple of months before I realised that my classmates provided an excellent excuse to visit their families, but being able to have a legitimate reason for introducing myself to the clans was worth it and sped up the process substantially.

All I had to do was obtain an invite from a classmate for a party or event of some sort, and I had a perfectly reasonable excuse to drop by. Having to put up with inane children's parties was a small sacrifice to make, especially since I could use the excuse of Riki's training to skip the majority of while making people think I was just that dedicated and hard-working.

Feeding into the idea that I was much more determined than I actually was, while being able to skip chunks of mind-numbing children's parties? That was a solid win-win in my book, and by now I had steadily worked my way through most of the major clans, leaving the minor ones for later.

Now if only I could actually get an invitation to the Hyuuga clan, that would be perfect. Was probably never going to happen though, them being the bunch of isolationist pricks that they were.

-VI-

Historians would one day say that the Second Great Shinobi War began as early as the year 1045 after a number of long-term spies were finally caught and executed in Mizu, resulting in a series of escalating moves from all nations.

For me the war began during the summer of 1046, starting with confusion and panic.

It had been a bit over fifteen months since I had joined the Academy, with just under half of those spent with the clan children in the fourth tier, during which news about tensions at the border and encounters with foreign shinobi had become so common place that it had become the new normal. So when the first news came through that large amounts of smoke was seen coming from our close allies' village of Uzushiogakure everyone had assumed some sort of tragic accident had occurred.

The Lord Second sent an emergency response team along with numerous medical supplies, while also sending word to our coastal outposts to be on high alert as a precaution. Rumours abounded about what had happened, ranging from a catastrophic sealing accident to a simple house fire that had quickly grown out of control.

The relief team arrived back at the gates of Konoha three days later, exhausted and demanding to see the Lord Second. In the hour it took for them to be debriefed the rumours spread like wildfire. Why had they returned? It took a day and a half for the average chunin to reach the island country, why had they not stayed?

Shuun and I were busy training with Riki when the news broke, the first clue that something had gone wrong coming when Riki snapped his gaze into the air at a hawk's cry. Seconds later he told us the day's training was being cut short before vanishing in front of us, the ringing of chakra his shunshin produced far less controlled than normal.

By the time we had finished our cool-down exercises and were making our way to my home the entire village was swarming like a disturbed ants nest. Chunin and Jonin dashed across rooftops at full speed, with the occasional team ignoring the gates and just jumping right over the walls, heading out of the village without a single glance behind them. Genin teams ran between the major department buildings delivering scroll after scroll to frantic administrative shinobi.

But most concerning were the ANBU. There was a black-cloaked, pale masked operative standing on a roof at every juncture. Our most lethal agents outside of the village, and the villages secret police when inside. Everyone knew that they had always been there, watching and waiting from the shadows, but seeing them out in the open clearly displaying themselves in a show of force set alarm bells ringing through every citizen.

I don't know when, but at some point Shuun and I had begun to run. The clamour of thousands of chakra signatures flaring into action was overwhelming, swallowing any other sound. Dozens of porcelain masks emblazoned with images of twisted animals stared down at us on every street, watching us and the civilians scramble. Waiting. At some point I remember Shuun turning towards me and trying to say something, but her words faded into the deafening ringing of chakra.

Even when we finally reached my home the sounds didn't leave. Chakra saturated the very air around us, not caring about shut doors or windows. It continued to grow as the moments ticked by as shinobi launched themselves off our roof and the villages many invisible defences were activated one by one. I hunched over, hands clasped over my ears in a futile attempt to stop the torrential roar. I tried screaming and failed to hear my own voice. I felt a warm liquid seep through my fingers, but felt no pain. Impossibly the noise continued to grow louder, and louder, and louder, until I was convulsing on the floor, the only thought still left in my head was the desire for it to stop.

And then the feeling of a cool hand touching the back of my neck, and then darkness.

I woke up an unknown amount of time later in an unfamiliar place, but after scanning the room it didn't take long to figure out what had happened. The stark white sheets and smell of antiseptic were the main giveaways. Sitting up, I noticed Mom was watching me from a bedside chair as she put away the book she had been reading. Her small smile and generally relaxed posture indicated that my hospitalisation probably wasn't due to a major problem, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling that something felt... off.

"Hey there Aki, how are you feeling?" She asked, the sound of her voice being dulled by what I assumed were bandages which wrapped around my head, covering my ears.

"Alright I think? I have a bit of a headache, and everything sounds muffled. What happened?"

Taking a look around the ward, I noticed that the only other patients were other kids, some younger some older, and all in similar situations as myself. The least-injured ones were an Inuzkua boy, a girl who I could place and an Aburame of unknown gender. The first two had cotton stuffing plugged up their nose, and the third had no discernible injuries whatsoever.

I and another boy who was still sleeping had bandages around our ears, while a poor kid who I guessed was a Yamanaka due to the colour of his and his father's hair had a thick bandage covering both his eyes. At the end of the ward was some unfortunate soul who was covered head to toe in bandages which had turned an off-yellow colour due to the pungent cream being applied to them by a med-nin.

It was only at this point that I noticed why everything sounded weird. The constant drone of chakra had disappeared. I wasn't given much time to think about it when a voice interrupted us.

"For what is going on outside, I can't say too much. But I can tell you why you ended up in here," said the med-nin who had been applying the ointment to the unfortunate soul as he made his way over.

"It's a common problem those who have chakra-hypersensitivity and who are also in training to become shinobi encounter. The first time they encounter a large amount of chakra being released in a continuous stream the person's related sensing organ becomes overwhelmed by the sudden extreme stimulation. The body then does what it does best and instinctively tries to reinforce said organ with chakra to withstand the perceived assault.

Unfortunately this just makes things worse due to the victim's chakra-hypersensitivity, which causes the body to send more chakra, which makes things worse, so it sends even more chakra, and so on. On it's own it is fairly harmless, as the sensory stimulation alone cant cause any lasting damage. The real problem comes when the person suffering doesn't know what is going on, and tries to lessen the discomfort"

'Discomfort' my ass, I remembered my head feeling like it was going to either cave in or burst, whichever one was more painful.

"You're lucky you didn't try to jam something in your ear canal to try and make it stop. Your normal hearing will return in a day or two, but a ruptured ear drum is much harder to heal."

Taking another quick look around with his words in mind, I had to stop myself from cringing when I noticed the Yamanaka had what looked to be small amounts of dried blood staining his bandages. If his case was anything like mine, the kid probably came close to gouging his own eyes out.

"The bandages are coated in a chakra-suppressant on them to prevent a secondary occurrence, but you should be able to take them off once you are home without any issue. However you should find someone or something that can help you train your sensing as soon as possible. A shinobi who becomes crippled the moment they sense a few high ranking techniques isn't a shinobi with a bright future."

With that the medic finished and turned to another child who had just woken up, launching into the same lecture I had just received, and I turned back to Mom.

"So how did I end up back here? I remember getting home, and then not much else," I asked.

"You gave Shuun-chan and I quite a fright. I heard you collapse from the living room, but then you didn't respond to anything we tried.

Thankfully Riki was already on his way. He put you to sleep with some sort of technique, before explaining what was probably happening and rushing you here. We followed him, but both he and Shuun-chan had to leave as they didn't want too many people in the room."

"How long was I asleep for? And what was going on outside?"

Mom's smile fell as she stared out a nearby window.

"Only a few hours, the sun hasn't set yet, and I'm not sure. I've been here, and none of us were really in the mood to gossip, for obvious reasons," she replied motioning to the rest of the adults in the ward.

"Riki would know more I'm sure. If you are feeling up to it we can get you discharged and hunt him down?"

Looking around the ward I stopped my automatic agreement. The many family members by the bedsides were clearly distressed, and while Mom was putting on a brave face seeing your child thrashing and screaming in pain while you could do nothing but watch would shake any parent.

"Actually could just chat a little more? I've been training with Riki and Shuun so much we haven't spent much family time. I've missed our reading sessions together."

Mom visibly brightened up at my comment, cracking open her book from the beginning again.

"Of course we can! Now then, 'In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others..."

Sachio might be the second mother I've had but I had come to care for her and dad just as much as my first family, and I didn't want her to wear herself out worrying about me. Not to mention that I had been telling the truth about our reading sessions.

Riki could wait a day or two.

-VI-

True to the medic's words, my hearing went back to normal the next day, and although I really didn't want to I decided to meet Shuun and Uncle Riki at our usual time. The Academy had sent word it would be closed for a couple days as personnel were shifted around, so I honestly had nothing better to do.

Surprisingly both Shuun and Riki were on the ground instead of training, looking at a map of the Land of fire with a handful of shogi pieces by their sides.

"...-ut in that case the forces would become overextended here and here, leaving the option open for the enemy to break away from here to-"

I took a seat between them, startling Shuun who had been too absorbed in Riki's explanation to notice my approach. Riki on the other hand just welcomed me with a solemn nod.

"-then push through the Majime bog unopposed due to the previous withdrawal from Jofuku to complete the encirclement of the outpost here."

With a few deft movements Riki manoeuvred his own shogi pieces to surround a large group of Shuun's own, causing her to groan in frustration.

"Man I've never been good at these strategy things Riki-sensei, let the Kages worry about that!"

"And that is why you are still only in the third tier Shuun! taijutsu will only ever get you so far you know. But seeing as Aki has joined us after all, we'll finish this later. How are you feeling Aki?"

"Yea you gave us me and Sachio-san a scare there, I knew you were weird but I didn't realise the voices in your head were that loud!"

Normally I would try to give Shuun a smack for her implying I was crazy, but her weak attempt at levity showed honest concern. I was quick to reassure them that, yes, I was fine and that no, there would probably be no after effects, before turning to Riki.

"So how bad is it? I must have heard a hundred rumours, but not a single credible one."

Riki turned back to the map, expression grim.

"...Uzushiogakure is gone, along with most of the Land of Whirlpools. The entire island was cracked open, there are no known survivors." he said, placing an upside-down shogi piece on the map to totally obscure the island. It wasn't too shocking for me, I had assumed this was the thing that had destroyed the village since I first heard the rumours, but it was still a sobering announcement.

Shuun, who didn't have the benefit of roughly knowing the future, audibly gasped.

"Wait what? All of it? What about their shinobi? Their seals? _The entire island was cracked open?!_ "

Riki ignored her outburst and continued.

"Even worse, the emergency relief team found two things that prove this was a deliberate attack. A handful of Kirigakure-style kunai scattered around, as well as a large amount of the unique coral only the Three-Tailed Beast is able to create.

The current theory we are working off of, is that Kiri managed to smuggle either a Jinchūriki or some other container with the Three-tails sealed inside, which was then released in the centre of the village. Then during the chaos and destruction Kiri attacked in force to prevent anyone from escaping as well as to re-seal the Beast once it's job had been completed."

The clearing was silent, Shuun openly gaping at Riki while I stared at the map in silence. I hadn't thought of them using a Tailed Beast like that before which in retrospect was stupid. To the best of my knowledge none of the existing Jinchūriki had seals or bonds sophisticated enough to allow them to freely transform into their beasts yet, so the only other way to properly manifest them to their fullest were to use them as living bombs.

Actually hadn't they tried to do the same thing with Kakashi's teammate? The details were fuzzy, as I only remembered the general plot of the story clearly, but I remembered a Tailed Beast being involved in why Kakashi had to kill her.

"It gets worse," Riki continued, re-catching our attention. How could it get worse than having a rival village essentially nuke our closest ally?

"During the debriefing of the relief team we got a number of messages from our border outposts that they were under attack, but not just from the sea."

At this Riki began lining up shogi pieces on our border with the Land of Lightning to the north east.

"While the general alert the Lord Second sent out to our eastern outposts gave them enough warning that they were able to fortify their position and are holding for now, no one expected the attack from Kumo.

They overran our furthest outposts yesterday, the surviving shinobi retreating to our standing defences located above Majime Bog and along the highlands east of it. The Lord Second has deployed almost all of our standing forces to hold the line there, which would also have included me had I not still have two more months to train you two."

Riki moved the line of shogi pieces forwards until they were were stopped by the river above Majime Bog and following the symbols denoting elevation which curved northwards to the coast. Then he added more pieces in the waters to the east, signifying Kiri forces.

"The attacks were timed too well for it to be a coincidence. The only option is to believe that Kumo and Kiri have entered into some sort of an alliance, with us as the target. I had hoped for more time, but looks like we aren't getting it. The Lord Second is going to be making an announcement this evening confirming it.

We're at war."

-VI-

To my surprise little changed after the announcement. I had thought that the outbreak of war would radically shift my day to day life, but the reality was that things didn't change all that much. I still went to the Academy everyday and trained with Shuun and Riki after, I still tried to find ways to introduce myself to many of the clan leaders without being too obvious about it, and I still had the occasional encounter with Minato where he would share news that he had obviously overheard by eavesdropping on people he wasn't supposed to.

That's not to say that nothing changed of course. The constant buzz of chakra had intensified into a low roar as if I was hearing a far away waterfall, which was most likely because of the dozens of 'secret' defences that were activated during war time. The number of active shinobi patrolling the village seemed to fall off significantly, being replaced by the new Uchiha Police force and the ANBU operatives who continued their rooftop vigil, and Minato's news had shifted from political manouvering to news from the front-lines that wasn't controlled by the village-owned newspaper, which meant it was probably a lot more accurate.

The biggest change was actually only tangentially related to the war, which was when I was approached by the boy who also had had bandages around his ears that day in the hospital. It turned out that he was a member of the Taketori clan, which was a small clan who were satellites of the Hyuuga clan before the founding of Konoha, who had a history of having hearing-based sensors.

The Taketori had offered to help me gain proper control of my sensing ability, seeing as the village needed as many skilled sensors they could get their hands on. The subtext was obvious, a favour now for one in return later, but it was good to know that my long term plans were already bearing fruit.

The fact that they were still very close to the Hyuuga clan was an added bonus, as it allowed me to 'coincidentally' be around when a guest from the notoriously isolationist clan came for a visit. This of course lead to me being introduced as 'the promising young student' who they had 'graciously offered their assistance' for the 'betterment of Konoha and her peoples'. For my own part I extolled the 'great virtues' of the 'generous and noble Taketori' while presenting a respectably humble view of myself.

My efforts were rewarded with a formal letter from Koushou Hyuuga himself, the father of Hiashi and Hizashi, mentioning that he was glad that their old subjects were proving themselves so gracious and loyal to the village, and that they hoped I would continue to reflect positively on the smaller clan, and by extention, they Hyuuga. Kiku Taketori was obviously pleased with my comments as well, as I was gifted a number of scrolls to help me practise at home the few days later.

Playing at politics may have been both dull and tedious, but I couldn't deny that it was rewarding.

Between the Academy, my lessons at the Taketori compound and training with Riki and Shuun I ended up with barely any time of my own. Collapsing on my bead in exhaustion, only to wake up the next day at the crack of dawn for the next day's activities became worryingly routine, and I hadn't even noticed the weeks slip by. It was only when Riki announced that we had come to the end of our year of training together that I realised two months had passed since the start of the war.

Sitting in front of him, Shuun and I glanced at each other before looking back at him.

"Wait, you serious Riki-sensei?" Shuun asked.

"Unfortunately so. With the start of the war the Lord Second wants everyone on duty and in the field. The enemy isn't giving us the luxury of sitting around at home, and we all need to do our part. My year's leave expires today, and I already have my orders. I cant say where I am going, but I'll be gone for at least a few months."

The training ground was silent. Not knowing what else to say, I stood up and gave Riki a deep bow.

"Thank you for your teachings Oji-san. I would never have gotten this far without you, and I promise to use what you've taught me to make you proud."

out of the corner of my eye I saw Shuun scramble up and do the same, her statement interrupted by Riki's laugh.

"Don't be so serious Aki. You too Shuun-chan, it doesn't suit you. I'm not being assigned to the front-lines or anything, so its not like you are never gonna see me again."

He wrapped his arms around our shoulders to pull us towards his side and then ruffled our hair, ignoring Shuun's yelp of protest.

"I'm already proud of you guys. You're both more than prepared for when you step outside of these walls, and there is no doubt in my mind that you both are going to become fine shinobi. Now, instead of moping around this dreary old field why don't we get a nice breakfast instead hmm?"

"Hell yea!"

"I could go for something."

Riki laughed as he lead us away, listening to Shuun's usual chatter, but I couldn't help but think about what he said. Were we prepared? Could one ever be truly ready for war?

Either way the choice was out of our hands. One month later, after only a year and a half at the academy and three months away from my sixth birthday, we became a genin of Konohagakure.

-VI-

The graduation was a sudden affair, blind-siding everyone except probably Minato. We were told to meet in the main hall where there were a large number of seats neatly ordered in rows. Taking a look around I noticed that I was the youngest person around, as was usual by this point, but the majority of kids seemed to be on the older side. I only saw a few younger faces, with Shuun sitting with a couple of kids I recognised from my time in the bottom three tiers as well as most of my clan-related classmates.

Once the hall had been filled the head of the Academy, Oshieru, took the podium at the front.

"Good morning everyone. We have much to do and not much time to do it in, so I will not waste words. As all of you know, we are at war. Because of this, the vast majority of our shinobi forces are now in the field, and are no longer available to keep the village running as smoothly as is necessary.

It has therefore been decided that this years graduation is to come early so that we can bolster our genin forces.

Each one of you sitting here today has displayed enough skill that you were going to be recommended for final testing by the end of the year, but due to the expedited timeline we are not going to be able to run as many tests as we would like to determine if you are truly ready. That doesn't mean there will be no tests, but it does mean that we will end up with students who may not have had the opportunity to prove the extent of their abilities.

Therefore over the coming few hours each one of you will be tested individually. Your scores and any notes made by your teachers or others will be evaluated, and then you will be assigned a classroom. Once all testing is complete a teacher will inform you if you passed or not, as well as what the future holds in store for you.

I wish you all the best of luck, and am sure all of you will do your best to make the Konoha proud!"

With that he stepped down from the podium as a dozen teachers, Noburu and Itsuki among them, began calling out names and leading students to side rooms. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long before my own name was called and I made my way to the testing room.

The two examiners were unfamiliar, probably to avoid bias, and seated behind a desk in the middle of the room. Gesturing for me to stand in front of the black board they began rattling off a series of questions that I was to answer on the board, as well as demonstrate a number of basic techniques and exercises.

In my humble opinion the test was pathetically easy, and ten minutes after entering I was given my forehead protector and sent to classroom 8-C. Unsurprisingly it was filled with the rest of my 4th-tier classmates, considering the system was designed to keep them together as long as possible after all. What was surprising however was that there were a number of totally unfamiliar faces scattered in the crowd. Dismissing them I took a seat and stared at the piece of metal and fabric in my hands.

Becoming a genin was something I had both dreaded as the start of my career as a child soldier and looked forward to as the first true stepping stone to fulfilling my ultimate goal. Now that I had done it, it seemed stupid that I had actually lost sleep over something this trivial. The whole thing was really a bit anti-climactic.

I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice a familiar chakra signature walk up and sit next to me, only snapping out of it as I felt an arm wrap around my neck and drag me over into them.

"Wh-What the hell? Shuun? What are you doing here?!"

My first and closest friend laughed at my confusion.

"You and Riki-sensei were wrong! 'You're never gonna get into 4th-tier without studying', 'taijutsu will only get you so far, 'blah blah blah I think I'm so smart because I'm 4th-tier even though my awesome Onee-san who is clearly way better than me is only in third'. Proved you all wrong, didn't I?" she mocked.

I just stared at her in confusion.

"No seriously, what are you doing here?"

Finally releasing me she leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the desk in front of us.

"Well, according to the examiners, they were going to wait and see if I continued to get better at brain stuff, but because the graduation was sped up they decided to give me a last second promotion to 4th-tier so that my 'potential wouldn't go to waste'! So here I am! You didn't think you would get rid of me that easily, did ya?"

Pushing her feet off of the desk, I proceeded to cradle my head in my arms. I could practically feel the stares of my classmates drilling into my back at her behaviour. Considering how much of the Academy was built on manipulation and political games, there was zero doubt in my mind that this was as straightforward as she they had told her.

"I had hoped Shuun. I had hoped"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly not all too happy with this chapter. I was super busy the week I wrote this one, and I think it shows, but sometimes you just need to say 'enough' or else you are going to spiral into a black pit of editing and re-editing for days and days.
> 
> Anyway, war has begun, graduation is here, and next chapter we meet the team and see what the future holds.
> 
> Don't forget to check out the map! Seriously, Fire-Daimyo does some great map-work (thanks again) and I'll be referring to it and maybe a couple of their other maps for the rest of the fic!
> 
> Fun Fact: The quote Sachio reads is the opening line from 'The Tale of Genji', which is considered possibly the first novel ever. Written sometime between 1000 and 1021 by Murasaki Shikibu, it follows the life of disowned prince Genji and focuses on his romantic pursuits and the customs of the nobility at the time. One of the more interesting parts about it is that it was considered rude to name people, so almost all the characters are referred to by either their rank/station if male, or the colour of their clothes if female.


End file.
